| By Author | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Title | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Language |
|
Download this book: [ ASCII | HTML | PDF ] Look for this book on Amazon Tweet |
Title: Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch
Author: Flom, George Tobias
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch" ***
[Transcriber's Note:
This e-text uses characters only available in UTF-8 encoding,
including the non-Roman letters
ð (eth)
þ (thorn)
ȝ (yogh, to approximate Gaelic g)
The following diacritics should also appear:
ǧ (g with caron)
á é ǽ (acute accent)
ā ē ǣ (macron)
ă ĕ æ̆ (breve)
ā̆ ē̆ ǣ̆ (breve _and_ macron)
ę ę̄ ǫ (ogonek, with or without macron)
Italicized letters or words are enclosed in _underlines_.]
* * * * *
SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE
ON
SOUTHERN LOWLAND SCOTCH
A Contribution
to the Study of the Linguistic Relations
of English and Scandinavian
by
GEORGE TOBIAS FLOM, B.L., A.M.
Sometime Fellow in German, Columbia University
AMS PRESS, INC.
NEW YORK
1966
Copyright 1900, Columbia University Press,
New York
Reprinted with the permission of the
Original Publisher, 1966
AMS PRESS, INC.
New York, N.Y. 10003
1966
Manufactured in the United States of America
* * * * *
ERRATA.
P. vi, l. 10, for _norrnøe_, read _norrøne_.
P. viii, l. 5, for _Wyntown_, read _Wyntoun_ and so elsewhere.
P. x, l. 11 from bottom, for _Koolmann_, read _Koolman_ and so
elsewhere.
P. xi, l. 1, for _Paul_, read _Kluge_; l. 2, for _Hermann Paul_,
read _Friedrich Kluge_.
P. 5, l. 6 from bottom, for _in York_, read _and York_.
P. 13, last line, for or ǣ ę̄, read ǣ or ę̄.
P. 18, l. 3 from bottom, for _Skaif_, read _Skæif_.
P. 19, l. 13, for _is to_, read _is to be_.
P. 21, l. 10, for _Fiad_, read _Faid_.
P. 26, l. 2, _aparasta_ should be _aprasta_.
P. 31, under Bront (See Skeat _brunt_) should be See Skeat _brunt_.
P. 32, under _Byrd_, for bōræ, read böræ.
P. 47, under Hansel, for Bruce, V, 120, Hansell used ironically
means "defeat," read: Bruce, V, 120, hansell, etc.
P. 50, under _Laike_, for _i-diphthong_, read _æi-diphthong_.
P. 66, under _Swarf_, in the last line for O. Fr. read O.F.
P. 74, l. 19, for _e to a_, read _e to æ_.
[Transcriber's Note: The above changes, listed in the printed book,
have been made in the e-text without further notation.
The following apparent errors, not mentioned in the Errata, have not
been changed but are noted here:
P. 5, last line, the form _bỳr_
?should be the form _býr_
P. 28 _Bein, bene, bein_: duplication in original
P. 28 under _Bing_, Douglass
?should be Douglas
P. 29 under _Blout, blowt_, Douglas, III, 76; II,
?should be Douglas, III, 76, 11
P. 49 under _Irking_, Winyet, II, 76; I
?should be II, 76, 1
P. 55 under _Quey, quoy_: O. N. Norse
P. 69 under _Skyle_, Fer.
?should be Far.
P. 79 under _ǣ_, ǣ > e, e
?should be ǣ > a, e
]
To
Prof. WILLIAM H. CARPENTER, Ph.D.
Prof. CALVIN THOMAS, A.M.
Prof. THOMAS R. PRICE, LL.D.
of Columbia University in the City of New York
IN GRATITUDE
PREFACE.
This work aims primarily at giving a list of Scandinavian loanwords
found in Scottish literature. The publications of the Scottish Text
Society and Scotch works published by the Early English Text Society
have been examined. To these have been added a number of other works
to which I had access, principally Middle Scotch. Some words have
been taken from works more recent--"Mansie Wauch" by James Moir,
"Johnnie Gibb" by William Alexander, Isaiah and The Psalms by
P. Hately Waddell--partly to illustrate New Scotch forms, but also
because they help to show the dialectal provenience of loanwords.
Norse elements in the Northern dialects of Lowland Scotch, those of
Caithness and Insular Scotland, are not represented in this work.
My list of loanwords is probably far from complete. A few early
Scottish texts I have not been able to examine. These as well as the
large number of vernacular writings of the last 150 years will have
to be examined before anything like completeness can be arrived at.
I have adopted certain tests of form, meaning, and distribution.
With regard to the test of the form of a word great care must be
exercised. Old Norse and Old Northumbrian have a great many
characteristics in common, and some of these are the very ones in
which Old Northumbrian differs from West Saxon. It has,
consequently, in not a few cases, been difficult to decide whether
a word is a loanword or not. Tests that apply in the South prove
nothing for the North. Brate rightly regarded _leȝȝkenn_ in
the Ormulum as a Scandinavian loanword, but in Middle Scotch
_laiken_ or _laken_ would be the form of the word whether Norse or
genuine English. Certain well-known tests of form, however, first
formulated by Brate, such as _ou_ for O.E. _ea_, or the assimilation
of certain consonants apply as well to Scotch as to Early Middle
English. The distribution of a word in English dialects frequently
helps to ascertain its real history, and may become a final test
where those of form and meaning leave us in doubt. In the study of
Norse or Scandinavian influence on Lowland Scotch the question of
Gaelic influence cannot be overlooked. The extent of Norse
influence on Celtic in Caithness, Sutherland and the Western
Highlands, has never been ascertained, nor the influence of Celtic
on Lowland Scotch. A large number of Scandinavian loanwords are
common to Gaelic, Irish, and Lowland Scotch. It is possible that
some of these have come into Scotch through Gaelic and not directly
from Norse. Perhaps _faid_, "a company of hunters," is such a word.
There are no works bearing directly on the subject of Scandinavian
elements in Lowland Scotch proper. J. Jakobsen's work, "Det norrøne
Sprog på Shetland," has sometimes given me valuable hints. From
Brate's well-known work on the Ormulum I have derived a great deal
of help. Steenstrup's "Danelag" has been of assistance to me, as
also Kluge's "Geschichte der englischen Sprache" in Paul's
Grundriss, the latter especially with regard to characteristics of
Northern English. Wall's work on "Scandinavian Elements in English
Dialects" has been especially helpful because of the excellent list
of loanwords given. In many cases, however, my own investigations
have led me to different conclusions, principally with regard to
certain tests and the dialectal provenience of loanwords. Finally,
the excellent editions of Scottish texts published by the S.T.S. and
the E.E.T.S. have made the work less difficult than it otherwise
would have been. I may mention particularly "The Bruce," Dunbar,
and Montgomery, where Scandinavian elements are very prominent.
ABBREVIATIONS REFERRING TO TEXTS INCLUDED IN THIS INVESTIGATION.
[*Footnote: The publications of the Scottish Text Society and those
of the Early English Text Society are given first. The others
follow, as nearly as may be, in chronological order.]
K.Q. = The "Kingis Quair" of James I., ed. W.W. Skeat. S.T.S. 1.
Dunbar = Bishop Dunbar's Works, ed. by John Small, R.J.G. Mackay
and W. Gregor. S.T.S. 2, 4, 16, 21, 29.
Rolland = "The Court of Venus" by John Rolland, ed. W. Gregor. S.T.S. 3.
Dalr. = Leslie's History of Scotland, translated by Dalrymple,
ed. E.G. Cody. S.T.S. 5, 14, 19, 34.
Wallace = Henry the Minstrel's "Wallace," ed. James Moir. S.T.S.
6, 7, 17.
Montg. = Alexander Montgomery's Poems, ed. James Cranstoun. S.T.S.
9, 10, 11.
Gau = "Richt way to the hevinlie Kingdom," by John Gau, ed. A.F.
Mitchell. S.T.S. 12.
Winyet = "Certain Tractates," by Ninian Winyet, ed. J.K. Hewison.
S.T.S. 15, 52.
Sat. P. = Satirical Poems of the Time of the Reformation,
ed. J. Cranstoun. S.T.S. 20, 24, 28, 30.
Buchanan = Vernacular Writings of George Buchanan, ed. P. H. Brown.
S.T.S. 26.
Bruce = Barbour's "Bruce," ed. W. W. Skeat. E.E.T.S. Extra Series
II, 21, 29.
Lyndsay = Sir David Lyndsay's Works, containing "The Monarchie,"
"Squire Meldrum," "The Dream," and "Ane Satire of the Three
Estates," ed. F. Hall. E.E.T.S. 11, 19, 35, 37.
C.S.= "The Complaynt of Scotland," ed. J.A.H. Murray. E.E.T.S. 17.
L.L.= "Lancelot of the Laik," ed. W. W. Skeat. E.E.T.S. 6.
R.R. = "Ratis Raving" and other Moral and Religious Pieces in Prose
and Verse, ed. J. Rawson Lumby. E.E.T.S. 43.
Douglas = The Poetical Works of Gawain Douglas in 4 vols., ed. John
Small. Edinburgh. 1874.
Wyntoun = "The Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland," by Andrew of
Wyntoun, ed. David McPherson. 2 vols. London. 1795.
R. and L. = "Roswell and Lillian," ed. O. Lengert. Englische
Studien 16.
Gol. and Gaw. = "Golagros and Gawain," ed. Moritz Trautmann.
Anglia II.
Scott = The Poems of Alexander Scott, ed. Andrew Laing. Edinburgh.
1821.
Philotus = "Philotus, A Comedy imprinted at Edinburgh by Robert
Charters, 1603." Published by the Bannatyne Club. Edinburgh. 1835.
Anc. Pro. = Collection of Ancient Scottish Prophecies in
Alliterative Verse, 1603. Published by the Bannatyne Club. 1833.
Poet. Rem. = The Poetical Remains of Some of the Scottish Kings,
containing "Peblis to the Play," "Christ's Kirk on the Green,"
"The Gaberlunzie Man," and "Ane Ballad of Good Council," ed. George
Chalmers. London. 1824.
Sco. Poems = Scottish Poems in 3 vols. containing "The Tales of the
Priests of Peblis," "Ballads" (1508), Holland's "Howlate," "The
Bloody Sark" of Robert Henrison, and "Sir Gawain and Sir Galaron"
of Galloway. London. 1792.
A.P.B.S. = Ancient Popular Ballads and Songs, ed. Robert Jamieson.
Edinburgh. 1806.
Fergusson = The Works of Robert Fergusson, ed. David Irving.
Greenock. 1810.
Irving = History of Scottish Poetry, containing a number of
extracts, ed. David Irving. Edinburgh. 1874.
Scotticisms = Scotticisms Corrected. London. 1855.
Ramsay = The Poems of Allan Ramsay, in 2 vols. Printed by A. Strahan
for T. Cadwell and W. Davies. London. 1800.
Burns = The Works of Robert Burns, ed. Dr. Adolphus Wagner. Leipzig.
1835.
Isaiah = Isaiah, frae Hebrew intil Scottis, by P. Hately Waddell.
Edinburgh and Glasgow. 1879.
Psalms = The Psalms, frae Hebrew intil Scottis, by P. Hately
Waddell. Edinburgh and Glasgow. 1891.
M.W. = "Mansie Wauch," by D.M. Moir. Edinburgh. 1898. Centenary
Edition.
J.G. = "Johnnie Gibb of Gushetneuk," by William Alexander (1871).
Edinburgh. 1897.
ABBREVIATIONS REFERRING TO GRAMMARS, GLOSSARIES, DICTIONARIES,
AND THE LIKE.
Aasen = Norsk Ordbog, af Ivar Aasen. Christiania. 1873. Generally
referred to as Norse.
B-T. = The Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Referred to
generally as Old English.
B-S. = Bradley's Stratmann's Middle English Dictionary. References
to Middle English forms are to B-S., unless otherwise specified.
Brate = "Nordische Lehnwörter im Ormulum." Paul und Braunes
Beiträge, X. 1885.
Brem. W. = Bremisch-Niedersächsisches Wörterbuch. Bremen. 1767.
Bouterwek = Die vier Evangelien in alt-nordhumbrischer Sprache.
Karl Bouterwek. Gütersloh. 1857.
Cl. and V. = Cleasby and Vigfusson's Icelandic-English Dictionary.
Oxford. 1874. Old Norse words have been taken largely from Cl. and
V.
Cook = A Glossary of the Old Northumbrian Gospels. A.S. Cook.
Halle. 1894.
Craigie = Oldnordiske Ord i de gæliske Sprog. W.A. Craigie, in Arkiv
for nordisk Filologie X. pp. 149ff.
Curtis = An Investigation of the Rimes and Phonology of the Middle
Scotch Romance "Clariodus," by F.J. Curtis, in Anglia XVI and XVII.
Dickinson = A Glossary of the Words and Phrases of Cumberland.
William Dickinson. Whitehaven and London. 1859.
D.S.C.S. = The Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland, by
J.A.H. Murray. London. 1873.
Egge = Norse words in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Albert Egge.
Pullman, Washington. 1898.
E.D.D. = The English Dialect Dictionary, A to C, ed. Joseph Wright.
Oxford. 1898.
Ellis = On Early English Pronunciation. Vol. 5, by Alexander J.
Ellis. Early English Text Society, Extra Series 56.
Fritzner = Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog. Johan Fritzner.
Christiania. 1886-1896.
Gibson = The Folkspeech of Cumberland, by A.C. Gibson. London. 1873.
Haldorson = Lexicon Islandico-Latino-Danicum, Biornonis Haldorsonii.
Havniae. 1814.
Jakobsen = Det norrøne Sprog på Shetland, by J. Jakobsen. Köbenhavn.
1897. Shetland dialect forms are generally taken from this work.
Jamieson = Jamieson's Dictionary of the Scottish Language.
Jellinghaus = Angelsächsisch-Neuenglische Wörter, die nicht
niederdeutsch sind, by H. Jellinghaus, in Anglia XX. Pp. 46-466.
Kalkar = Ordbog til det ældre danske Sprog. Otto Kalkar. Köbenhavn.
1881-1892.
Lindelöf = Glossar zur altnordhumbrischen Evanglienübersetzung in
der Rushworth-Handschrift (in Acta Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae
Tome XXII., No. 5), von Uno Lindelöf. Helsingfors. 1897.
Kluge P.G.(2)I. = Kluge's "Geschichte der englischen Sprache," in
Paul's Grundriss, 2 Auflage, I Band.
Kluge and Lutz = English Etymology, by F. Kluge and F. Lutz.
Strassburg. 1898.
Koolman = Wörterbuch der ostfriesischen Sprache. J ten Doornkaat
Koolman. Norden. 1879-1884. Sometimes cited as Low German.
Luik = Untersuchungen zur englischen Lautgeschichte. Strassburg. 1896.
Molbech = Dansk Ordbog. C. Molbech. Kjöbenhavn. 1859. Referred to
generally as Danish.
N.E.D. = The New English Dictionary, A to Frankish, ed. J.A.H.
Murray.
Noreen P.G.(2)I. = Noreen's "Geschichte der nordischen Sprachen,"
in Paul's Grundriss, 2 Auflage, 1 Band.
Kluge = Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache. Friedrich
Kluge. Strassburg. 1894.
Richthofen (or O.F.) = Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, von Karl Freiherrn
von Richthofen. Göttingen. 1840.
Rietz (or Sw. dial.) = Svenskt Dialekt-Lexikon. J.E. Rietz.
Malmö. 1867.
Ross = Norsk Ordbog. Tillæg til Ivar Aasen's Ordbog. Hans Ross.
Christiania. 1895.
Schiller und Lübben = Mittelniederdeutsches Wörterbuch. Bremen.
1875-1880. Cited as M.L.G.
Schlyter = Glossarium til Skånelagen (Sveriges Gamle Lagar IX.).
C.J. Schlyter. Lund. 1859.
O.S. = Old Saxon. Schmellers Glossarium Saxonicum e Poemate Heliand.
Tübingae. 1840.
Sievers = Altenglische Grammatik. Eduard Sievers. 3 Auflage. 1898.
Skeat = Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. Oxford.
1882; and Concise Etymological Dictionary. Oxford. 1897.
Skeat's list = A List of English Words, the Etymology of which is
illustrated by Comparison with Icelandic. W.W. Skeat. Oxford. 1876.
Steenstrup = Danelag (Vol. IV. of "Normannerne"). J.C.H.R.
Steenstrup. Kjöbenhavn. 1882.
Sweet = Student's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Henry Sweet. Oxford. 1897.
Söderwall = Ordbok öfver svenska Medeltids Språket, A to L. K.F.
Söderwall. Lund. 1884-1890.
Thorkelson = Supplement til islandske Ordböger. Jon Thorkelson.
Reykjavik. 1876-1897.
Wall = "Scandinavian Elements in the English Dialects," by Arnold
Wall. Anglia XX.
Worsaae = Minder om de Danske og Normændene i England, Skotland,
og Irland, af J.J.A. Worsaae. Kjöbenhavn. 1851.
ABBREVIATIONS REFERRING TO LANGUAGES, GRAMMATICAL TERMS, ETC.
adj. = adjective.
adv. = adverb.
cp. = compare.
conj. = conjunction.
Cu. = Cumbrian, Cumberland.
Dan. = New or Modern Danish.
dem. pr. = demonstrative pronoun.
deriv. = derivative.
dial. = dialect, dialectal.
diall. = dialects.
E. Norse = East Norse.
Eng. = English, standard speech.
Far. = Faroese.
Fr. = French.
Gael. = Gaelic.
Germ. = German.
Gmc. = Germanic.
Goth. = Gothic.
id. = the same.
inf. = infinitive.
Ir. = Irish.
L.G. = Low German.
M. Dan. = Middle Danish.
M. Du. = Middle Dutch.
M.E. = Middle English.
M.H.G. = Middle High German.
M.L.G. = Middle Low German.
M. Sco. = Middle Scotch.
M. Sw. = Middle Swedish.
Norse = New or Modern Norse.
N. Sco. = Modern Scotch dialects.
O. Dan. = Old Danish.
O.E. = Old English.
O.F. = Old Frisian.
O. Fr. = Old French.
O. Ic. = Old Icelandic.
O.N. = Old Norse.
O. Nh. = Old Northern.
O. Nhb. = Old Northumbrian.
O.S. = Old Saxon.
O. Sw. = Old Swedish.
p. = page; pp. = pages.
p. p. = past participle.
pr. p. = present participle.
pret. = preterite.
pron. = pronounced.
prep. = preposition.
pl. = plural.
q.v. = quod vide.
Scand. = Scandinavian.
Sco. = Scotch.
S.S. = Southern Scotland.
sb. = substantive.
Sw. = Swedish.
vb. = verb.
W.Norse = West Norse.
W. Scand. = West Scandinavian.
W.S. = West Saxon.
> = developed into.
< = derived from.
E.D.S. = English Dialect Society.
E.E.T.S. = Early English Text Society.
S.T.S. = Scottish Text Society.
There has been considerable confusion in the use of the terms Norse
and Danish. Either has been used to include the other, or, again,
in a still wider sense, as synonymous with Scandinavian; as, for
instance, when we speak of the Danish kingdoms in Dublin, or Norse
elements in Anglo-Saxon. Danish is the language of Denmark, Norse
the language of Norway. When I use the term Old Danish I mean that
dialect of Old Scandinavian, or Old Northern, that developed on
Danish soil. By Old Norse I mean the old language of Norway. The
one is East Scandinavian, the other West Scandinavian. The term
Scandinavian, being rather political than linguistic, is not a good
one, but it has the advantage of being clear, and I have used it
where the better one, Northern, might lead to confusion with
Northern Scotch.
CONTENTS.
PART I. INTRODUCTION.
General Remarks §1
Place-Names and Settlements in Northwestern England §2
Scandinavian Settlements in Southern Scotland §3
Settlements in England, Norse or Danish? The Place-Name Test §4
_By_ in Place-Names. Conclusions as to this Test §5
Characteristics of Old Northern, or Old Scandinavian.
Early Dialectal Differentiations §6
Old Norse and Old Danish §7
Remarks §8
Characteristics of Old Northumbrian §9
Remarks. Metathesis of _r_ §10
The Question of Palatalization in Old Northumbrian §11
_Sk_ as a Scandinavian Sign. Certain Words in _sk_.
Palatalization in Norse §12
Conclusion as to the Test of Non-palatalization §13.
Old and Middle Scotch §14
Some Characteristics of Scotch. O.E. _ă ā_ §15
Curtis's Table §16
O.E. _ō_. A List of Illustrative Words
from the Aberdeen Dialect §17
Inorganic _y_ in Scotch §18
_D_ for the Spirant _th_ §19
O.E. _ā_ and O.N. _æi_. How far we can Determine
such Words to be of Native or of Norse Origin §20
A List of Some Words that are Norse. Further Remarks §21
Celtic, Lowland Scotch, and Norse §22
Some Words that are not Scandinavian Loanwords §23
Loanword Tests §24
Remarks on the Texts §25
PART II.
A List of Scandinavian Loanwords taken chiefly from "The Bruce,"
"The Wallace," Wyntoun's Chronicle, Dunbar, Douglas, Lyndsay,
Alexander Scott, Montgomery, Ramsay and Burns.
PART III.
1. The Dialectal Provenience of Loanwords.
2. (a) The Old Northern Vowels in the Loanwords. Short Vowels, Long
Vowels, Diphthongs.
(b) The Old Northern Consonants.
* * * * *
PART I.
INTRODUCTION.
1. GENERAL REMARKS.
Worsaae's list of 1400 place-names in England gives us an idea of
the extent, as well as the distribution of Scandinavian settlements
in the 9th and 10th centuries. How long Scandinavian was spoken in
England we do not know, but it is probable that it began to merge
into English at an early date. The result was a language largely
mixed with Norse and Danish elements. These are especially prominent
in the M.E. works "Ormulum," "Cursor Mundi," and "Havelok." We have
historical records of the Danes in Central and Eastern England. We
have no such records of Scandinavian settlements in Northwestern
England, but that they took place on an extensive scale 300 place-
names in Cumberland and Westmoreland prove. In Southern Scotland,
there are only about 100 Scandinavian place-names, which would
indicate that such settlements here were on a far smaller scale than
in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, or Cumberland--which inference, however,
the large number of Scandinavian elements in Early Scotch seems to
disprove. I have attempted to ascertain how extensive these elements
are in the literature of Scotland. It is possible that the
settlements were more numerous than place-names indicate, that they
took place at a later date, for instance, than those in Central
England. Brate showed that the general character of Scandinavian
loanwords in the Ormulum is East Scandinavian. Wall concludes that
it is not possible to determine the exact source of the loanwords in
modern English dialects because "the dialect spoken by the Norsemen
and the Danes at the time of settlement had not become sufficiently
differentiated to leave any distinctive trace in the loanwords
borrowed from them, or (that) neither race preponderated in any
district so far as to leave any distinctive mark upon the dialect of
the English peasantry." It is true that the general character of
the language of the two races was at the time very much the same,
but some very definite dialectal differentiations had already taken
place, and I believe the dialectal provenience of a very large
number of the loanwords can be determined. Furthermore, the
distribution of certain place-names indicates that certain parts
were settled more especially by Danes, others by Norsemen. The
larger number of loanwords in Wall's "List A" seem to me to be
Danish. My own list of loanwords bears a distinctively Norse stamp,
as I shall show in Part III. of this work. This we should also
expect, judging from the general character of Scandinavian place-
names in Southern Scotland.
2. PLACE-NAMES AND SETTLEMENTS IN NORTHWESTERN ENGLAND.
Cumberland and Westmoreland, together covering an area equal to
about two-thirds that of Yorkshire, have 300 Scandinavian place-
names. Yorkshire has 407 according to Worsaae's table. The character
of these names in Cumberland and Westmoreland is different from that
of those in the rest of England. It seems that these counties were
settled predominantly by Norsemen and also perhaps at a later date
than that which we accept for the settlements in York and
Lincolnshire. We know that as early as 795 Norse vikings began their
visits to Ireland; that they settled and occupied the Western Isles
about that time; that in 825 the Faroes were first colonized by
Norsemen, partly from the Isles. After 870 Iceland was settled by
Norsemen from Norway, but in part also from the Western Isles and
Ireland. The 'Austmen' in Ireland, especially Dublin, seem
frequently to have visited the opposite shore. It seems probable
that Northwestern England was settled chiefly by Norsemen from
Ireland, Man, and the Isles on the west. It is not likely that any
settlements took place before 900. It seems more probable that they
belong rather to the second quarter of the 10th Century or even
later, when the Irish began successfully to assert themselves
against the Norse kings in Dublin and Waterford. Perhaps some may
have taken place even as late as the end of the 10th Century.
3. SCANDINAVIAN SETTLEMENTS IN SOUTHERN SCOTLAND.
In Southern Scotland, Dumfriesshire, Eastern Kircudbright and
Western Roxburgh seem to have formed the center of Scandinavian
settlements; so, at any rate, the larger number of place-names would
indicate. The dialect spoken here is in many respects very similar
to that of Northwestern England, D. 31 in Ellis, and the general
character of the place-names is the same. These are, however, far
fewer than in Northwestern England. Worsaae gives a list of about
30. This list is not exhaustive. From additional sources, rather
incomplete, I have been able to add about 80 more Scandinavian
place-names that occur in Southern Scotland, most of them of the
same general character as those in Northwestern England. Among them:
Applegarth, Cogarth, Auldgirth, Hartsgarth, Dalsgairth, Tundergarth,
Stonegarthside, Helbeck, Thornythwaite, Twathwaite, Robiethwaite,
Murraythwaite, Lockerby, Alby, Denbie, Middlebie, Dunnabie, Wysebie,
Perceby, Newby, Milby, Warmanbie, Sorbie, Canoby, Begbie, Sterby,
Crosby, Bushby, Magby, Pockby, Humbie, Begbie, Dinlaybyre, Maybole,
Carnbo, Gateside, Glenholm, Broomholm, Twynholm, Yetholm, Smailholm,
Langholm, Cogar, Prestwick, Fenwick, Howgate, Bowland, Arbigland,
Berwick, Southwick, Corstorphine, Rowantree, Eggerness, Southerness,
Boness, etc. There are in all about 110 such place-names, with a
number of others that may be either English or Scandinavian. The
number of Scandinavian elements in Southern Scotch is, however, very
great and indicates larger settlements than can be inferred from
place-names alone. In the case of early settlements these will
generally represent fairly well the extent of settlement. But where
they have taken place comparatively late, or where they have been of
a more peaceful nature, the number of new names of places that
result from them may not at all indicate their extent. The
Scandinavians that settled in Southern Scotland probably at no time
exceeded in number the native population. The place-names would then
for the most part remain unchanged. The loanwords found in Southern
Scotch and the names of places resemble those of Northwestern
England. The same Northern race that located in Cumberland and
Westmoreland also located in Scotland. It is probable, as Worsaae
believed, that it is a second migration, chiefly from Cumberland.
Dumfriesshire, at any rate, may have been settled in this way. The
settlers of Kircudbright and Wigtown were probably largely from the
Isles on the west. Other independent settlements were made in
Lothian and the region about the Forth. That these are all later
than those of Cumberland and Westmoreland is probable. According to
what has been said above, the settlements in Dumfries, which seem to
have been the earliest, could not have taken place before about the
second quarter of the 10th Century, and probably were made later.
The other settlements in Southern Scotland may extend even into the
11th Century. The name Dingwall (O.N. _Ðingvöllr_) in Dumfries, the
place where the laws were announced annually, indicates a rather
extensive settlement in Dumfries, and the dialect of Dumfries is
also characterized by a larger number of Scandinavian elements than
the rest of the Southern counties.
4. SETTLEMENTS IN ENGLAND, NORSE OR DANISH? THE PLACE-NAME TEST.
That the Danes were more numerous than the Norsemen in Central and
Eastern England from Northumberland down to the Thames there can be
no doubt. The distinctive Norse names _fell_, _tarn_ and _force_ do
not occur at all, while _thorpe_ and _toft_, which are as
distinctively Danish, are confined almost exclusively to this
section. In Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland, Westmoreland and
Lancashire _thorpe_ is comparatively rare, while _toft_ is not found
at all. On the other hand, _fell_, _dale_, _force_, _haugh_, and
_tarn_ (O.N. _fjall_, _dalr_, _foss_ and _fors_, _haugr_, _tjörn_)
occur in large numbers in Northwestern England. _Beck_ may be either
Danish or Norse, occurs, however, chiefly in the North. _Thwaite_
Worsaae regarded as Danish "because it occurs generally along with
the Danish _by_." We find, however, that this is not exactly the
case. In Lincolnshire there are 212 _by's_, in Leicestershire 66, in
Northampton 26; _thwaite_ does not occur at all. In Yorkshire there
are 167 names in _by_ and only 8 in _thwaite_, and 6 of these are in
West Riding. It is only in Cumberland and Westmoreland that the
proportions are nearly the same, but on _by_ see below §5. _Tveit_
is far more common in Norway than _tved_ in Denmark. The form of the
word in place-names in England is, furthermore, more Norse than
Danish. In the earliest Scandinavian settlements in England, those
of Lincolnshire, for instance, _thwaite_ might be Danish if it
occurred, for monophthongation of _æi_ to _e_ did not take place in
Danish before about the end of the 9th Century; by about 900 this
was complete (see §6). The Scandinavian settlements in Northwestern
England, however, did not take place so early, consequently if these
names were Danish and not Norse we should expect to find _thwet_, or
_thweet_ (_tweet_), in place of _thwaite_. It is then to be regarded
as Norse and not Danish. _Thwaite_ occurs almost exclusively in
Northwestern England--43 times in Cumberland as against 3 in the
rest of England south of Yorkshire. _Garth_ (O.N. _garðr_, O. Dan.
_gardh_, later _gaard_), occurs very often in Cumberland. _With_,
_ness_, _holm_, _land_, and _how_, do not occur very often. _How_
reminds one of the Jutish _höw_ in Modern Danish dialect. The rest
of these may be either Danish or Norse. In Yorkshire we find a mixed
condition of affairs. East Riding, as we should expect, has
predominantly Danish names. _Thorpe_, which occurs 63 times in
Lincolnshire, is found 48 times in East Riding. _Fell_, _tarn_ and
_haugh_ do not occur. _Force_ is found twice, and _thwaite_ once.
_Dale_, however, occurs 12 times. West Riding was probably settled
by Danes from the East and by Norsemen from the West. _Thorpe_
occurs 29 times, _with_ 8, _toft_ 2, _beck_ 4, _fell_ 15, _thwaite_
6, _dale_ 12, and _tarn_ 2. In North Riding _thorpe_ occurs 18
times. _Force_, _fell_, and _tarn_ together 12. The large number of
names in _dale_ in North Riding is rather striking (40 in all), as
compared with 52 for Westmoreland and Cumberland. While _dale_ is
predominantly Norse, it may perfectly well be Danish, and it is not
rare in Denmark. Furthermore, the greater number of _dales_ in
Norway as compared with Denmark is largely accounted for by the
nature of the country. No conclusions can be drawn from names in
_force_ in Yorkshire, Cumberland and Westmoreland, as it is of too
infrequent occurrence. _Fell_ occurs 22 times in York, as against 57
in Cumberland and Westmoreland (42 in Westmoreland alone), but in
York occurs predominantly in West Riding, where everything points to
a mixed settlement. The distribution of _tarn_ is interesting.
_Tarn_ is as distinctively Norse as _thorpe_ is Danish. It occurs 24
times in Cumberland and Westmoreland, 3 in North Riding, and is not
found at all south of Westmoreland and York.
5. _BY_ IN PLACE-NAMES. CONCLUSIONS AS TO THIS TEST.
_By_ has been regarded as a sign of Danish settlement for the
following reasons: (1) O.N. _bör_ would have given _bo_. The O. Dan.
form _býr_ becomes _by_. (2) _By_ is peculiar to Denmark, rare in
Norway. (3) _Bö_ or _bo_ is the form found in Insular Scotland, in
the Faroes and other Norse settlements. First, the form _bỳr_ is
not exclusively O. Dan. It occurs several times in Old Norse sagas
in the form _býr_ and _bý_--in "Flateyarbók," III., 290, in
"Fagrskinna" 41, several times in the "Heimskringla," as well as
elsewhere. Again, J. Vibe (see Nordisk Tidskrift, 1884, 535, and
Norsk Historisk Tidskrift, 2 Række, 5 Bind), has shown that _by_ is
not peculiar to Denmark and rare in Norway. It occurs 600-700 times
in Denmark and Skåne, and 450 times in Norway. Finally, _by_ is
often found in Norse settlements in Scotland and elsewhere--in
Iceland, Shetland, Orkney, Man, and in the Western Isles. In fact,
_by_ seems to be the more common form outside of Iceland. All we can
say then is that _by_ is more Danish than Norse, but may also be
Norse. Where names in _by_ are numerous it indicates that the
settlements are rather Danish, but they may also be Norse. We have,
then, the following results: Predominantly Danish settlements:
Essex, Bedford, Buckingham, Suffolk, Norfolk, Northampton,
Leicester, Rutland, Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, East Riding. Mixed
Norse and Danish settlements: North Riding, West Riding, Durham,
part of Cheshire, and Southern Lancashire. Norse settlements:
Cumberland, Westmoreland, North Lancashire, part of Cheshire, and
parts of Northumberland. The number of Scandinavian place-names in
Northumberland is not large, only 22 in Worsaae's list. North of the
Cheviot Hills the names are again predominantly Norse.
6. CHARACTERISTICS OF OLD NORTHERN, OR OLD SCANDINAVIAN.
EARLY DIALECTAL DIFFERENTIATION.
On the characteristics of primitive Northern and the changes that
had taken place in the language before the Viking period, see
Noreen, P.G.(2)I, 521-526. On pp. 523-526 are summarized the
characteristics of General Northern. Until 800 the Northern tongue
was unitary throughout the Scandinavian North. In the Viking age
dialectal differentiations began to appear, especially in O. Dan.
These are as follows (from Noreen):
About 800, older _hr_ > _r_ in Denmark.
Soon after 800, older diphthongs became simplified in Denmark,
e.g.,
_au_ > _u_ cp. O. Ic. _þau_, O.Gutnic _þaun_ = O. Dan. _þusi_
pronounced _þøsi_.
_ai_, _ei_ > _i_ cp. O. Ic. _stein_, O.N. _stæin_, O.Gtnc.
_stain_ = O. Dan. _stin_.
_io_, _iau_ > _u_ cp. O.N., O. Ic. _briote_, O.Gtnc.
_briauti_ = O. Dan. _biruti_.
Before 1000, _ē_ > _æ_ cp. O.N., O. Ic. _sér_ = O. Dan. _sær_
(written _sar_).
About 1,000, appears in O. Sw.--O. Dan. an excrescent _d_ between
_nn_ and _r_, e.g., _mantr_, pronounced _mandr_ (see Noreen,
p. 526).
7. OLD NORSE AND OLD DANISH.
Not until the year 1,000, or the beginning of the 11th Century, do
dialectal differentiations seem to be fully developed. O.N., which
in general preserves best the characteristics of the old Northern
speech, undergoes at this time a few changes that differentiate Dan.
and Norse still more. O. Sw. remains throughout closer to O. Dan. The
two together are therefore called East Scandinavian. Old Icelandic,
that is, Norse on Icelandic soil, develops its own forms, remaining,
however, in the main very similar to O.N. These two are then called
West Scandinavian. The following are some of the chief differences
between West and East Scandinavian at the time (from Noreen,
P.G.(2)I, 527):
1. _I_--(_R_) and _U_--_Umlaut_ in W.S. Absence of it in E.S.,
e.g.,
W.S. _hældr_ E.S. _halder_.
3 sg. pres. of _halda_, "to hold."
W.S. _i gær_, "yesterday," E.S. _i gar_.
W.S. _lǫnd_, pl. "land," E.S. _land_.
2. Development of _i_, _e_, _y_ into a consonantal _i_ in
diphthongs in W. S., not so in E. S., e.g.,
W.S. _siá_, "to see," E.S. _sēa_.
W.S. _fiánde_, "enemy," E.S. _fiande_.
W.S. _biár_, "of a village," E.S. _býar_.
3. Assimilation of _mp_, _nk_, _nt_, respectively, to _pp_, _kk_,
_tt_ in W.S., retention of them in E.S., e.g.,
W.S. _kroppen_, "crippled," E.S. _krumpin_.
W.S. _ækkia_, "widow," E.S. _ankia_.
W.S. _batt_, "bound," E.S. _binda_.
pret. of _binda_,
4. The Medio-passive:
W.S. _sk_, e.g., _kallask_, E.S. _s_, _kallas_.
5. Pronominal forms:
W.S. _ek_, _vér_ (_mér_), E.S. _iak_, _vīr_,
_ér_ (_þer_), _sem_, _īr_, _sum_.
8. REMARKS.
Assimilation of _mp_ to _pp_ and _nk_ to _kk_ appears also quite
early in Danish and Swedish, e.g., _kap_ (_kapp_) and _drocken_ (see
Kalkar), _kapp_ and _drokken_ (Sw.). _U--Umlaut_ seems to be more
limited in O.N. than in O. Ic. O. Ic. _hl_, _hn_, _hr_ initially
appear early as simple _l_, _n_, _r_ in O.N. (see Noreen 528), e.g.,
O. Ic. _hlaupa_, O.N. _loupa_; O. Ic. _hniga_, O.N. _niga_; O. Ic.
_hringr_, O.N. _ringr_; O. Ic. _fn_ appears in O.N. as _bn_ or _mn_,
e.g., O. Ic. _nafn_, O.N. _namn_ (N. Norse _navn_, _nabn_, _namn_).
Initial _hv_, which was a heavy guttural spirant, became _kv_ in
Western Norway, _kv_ and _khv_ in Iceland (though written _hv_
still), e.g., O.N., O. Ic. _hvelva_, Norse _kvelva_. O.N. _ø_ became
_æ_ in Iceland, _døma_ > _dæma_. O.N. _æi_ became _ei_ in Iceland,
e.g., O.N. _stæin_ > O. Ic. _stein_, O.N. _bæin_ > O. Ic. _bein_
(_stin_ and _bin_ in O. Dan.).
9. CHARACTERISTICS OF OLD NORTHUMBRIAN.
The following are some of the chief differences between O. Nhb. and
W. S:
1. Preference in O. Nhb. for _a_ in many cases where W. S. has _e_.
2. _A_ sometimes appears in closed syllable where W.S. has æ.
3. _A_ before _l_ + consonant is not broken to _ea_ (Sievers
§121.3, and Lindelöf: Die Sprache des Durham Rituals).
4. _A_ before _r_ + consonant very frequently not broken, cp.
_arm_, _farra_. Breaking occurs more often, however.
5. _E_ before _l_ + consonant not broken in the Ritual (see
Lindelöf).
6. _E_ before _r_ + consonant is broken and appears as either _ea_
or _eo_, cp. _eorthe_, _earthe_.
7. _A_ before _h_, _ht_, _x_ (_hs_) becomes _æ_. Sievers §162.1.
In W.S. _a_ was broken to _ea_, cp. O. Nhb. _sax_, W.S. _seax_.
This Lindelöf explains as due to the different quality of the
_h_--in W.S. it was guttural, hence caused breaking; in Nhb. it
was palatal and hence the preceding _a_ was palatalized to _æ_.
8. Nhb. umlaut of _o_ is _œ_. In W. S. it was _e_, cp.
_dœma_, _sœca_, W. S. _dēman, sēcan_. See Sievers §§27
and 150.4. Bouterwek CXXVII, and Lindelöf. This difference was,
however, levelled out, Nhb. _œ_ becoming also _e_, according to
Sievers.
9. Special Nhb. diphthongs _ei_, _ai_, cp. _heista_, _seista_,
W.S. _hiehsta_, _siexta_.
10. Influence of preceding _w_ was greater than in the South.
A diphthong whose second element was a dark vowel was simplified
generally to a dark vowel (Lindelöf), e.g., _weo_ > _wo_,
_wio_ > _wu_, cp. _weorld_ > _world_, _weord_ > _word_, etc.
11. W.S. _t_ is represented quite frequently by _ð_ or _d_,
regularly so when combined with _l_, often so when combined with
_s_. See Lindelöf above.
12. W.S. _ð_ frequently appears as _d_ in the North; the reverse
also occurs. See Bouterwek CXLII-CXLV. In a few cases _ð_ > _t_.
13. _C_ before _t_ where W. S. regularly has _h_. See Bouterwek.
14. Metathesis of _r_ less extensive than in W. S.
15. Preceding _g_, _c_, _sc_ did not cause diphthongation in Nhb.
as often as in W. S.
16. Generally speaking, less extensive palatalization in Nhb. than
in W. S.
17. Dropping of final _n_ in infinitives in Northumbrian.
10. REMARKS. METATHESIS OF _R_.
The above characteristics of O. Nhb. will not only explain a great
many later Scotch forms, but also show that a number of words which
have been considered loanwords are genuine English. Sco. _daw_,
"day," need not necessarily be traced to O.N. _dagr_. The W.S. _dæg_
gave Eng. _day_. _Dæg_ is also the Northern form. _Daw_ may of
course be due to _a_ in the oblique cases, but according to 2 _dag_
may have appeared in the nominative case early in the North. This
would develop to _daw_. Sco. _daw_, verb, "to dawn," is easily
explained. W.S. _dagian_ > _dawn_ regularly, Nhb. _dagia_ (see 17
above) > _daw_. The O.N. _daga_, "to dawn," is then out of the
question. Sco. _mauch_, "a kinsman"; the O.E. form was _mæg_, which
would have given _may_. In the North the _g_ was probably not
palatal. Furthermore a Northern form _mag_ would regularly develop
to _maw_, might also be _mauch_ (cp. _law_ and _lawch_, adj., "low,"
O.N. _lagr_). O.N. _magr_, "kinsman," may, however, be the source of
_mauch_. Sco. _hals_ is not from O.N. _hals_, but from O. Nhb. _hals_
which corresponded to W. S. _heals_; Sco. _hawse_, "to clasp,"
(Ramsay, II, 257); comes from O. Nhb. _halsiga_, W. S. _healsian_.
(Sco. _hailse_, "to greet," is a different word, see loanword list,
part II.). Forms that appear later in standard English frequently
are found earliest in the North (cp. §10). No. 13 explains some
differences in the later pronunciation of Sco. and Eng. No. 12 is a
characteristic that is much more common in Middle and Early New
Scotch. Many words in this way became identical in form with their
Norse cognates, cp. _broder_, _fad(d)er_, etc. This will be
discussed later. No. 14, Metathesis of _r_, was carried out
extensively in W. S. (see Sievers, 179), e.g., _beornan_ "burn";
_iernan_, "run"; _burn_, "a stream"; _hors_, "horse"; _forsk_,
"frog"; _þerscan_, "to thrash"; _berstan_, "to burst"; _fierst_,
"a space of time," (cp. Norse _frist_, Germ. _Frist_). This
progressive metathesis of _r_ is very common in the South. In the
North, on the contrary, metathesis of _r_ has taken place before
_ht_ in _frohtian, fryhtu_, etc. (Sievers, 179, 2). In addition to
these a large number of words appear in Old and Middle Sco.
differing from literary English with regard to metathesis, sometimes
showing metathesis where Eng. does not. A list of words will
illustrate this difference: _thyrldom_, "thraldom"; _thirl_, "to
enthrall"; _fryst_, "first"; _brest_, "to burst"; _thretty_,
"thirty"; _thrid_, "third"; _thirl_, "to pierce thirl"; _gyrs_,
"grass"; _krul_, "curl"; _drit_, "dirt"; _warsill_, "to wrestle";
_scart_, "to scratch"; _cruddled_, "curdled"; _birde_, O.E. _brid_,
"offspring." The result is that many of these words are more like
the corresponding O.N. words than the Anglo-Saxon (cp. O.N.
_fristr_, _brenna_, Norse _tretti_, _tredie_, etc.), hence they
have in many cases been considered loanwords. Sco. _braist_ and
_landbrest_, "breakers," (cp. O.N. _bresta_, _landbrest_), are not
from the Norse but from the corresponding O. Nhb. words. _Cors_ which
occurs in Gau may be a similar case and like Eng. _cross_ derived
from O. Fr. _crois_, but Gau otherwise shows considerable Danish
influence and Gau's form may be due to that. Eng. _curl_ and _dirt_
(from O.Du. _krul_ and O.N. _drit_) have undergone metathesis. The
Sco. words have not.
11. THE QUESTION OF PALATALIZATION IN O. NHB.
Just to what extent _g_, _c_, _sc_ were palatalized in O. Nhb. is not
definitely known. Until this has been ascertained the origin of a
number of dialect words in the North will remain uncertain. The
palatal character of _g_, _c_, _sc_ in O.E. was frequently
represented by inserting a palatal vowel, generally _e_, before the
following guttural vowel. Kluge shows (in Litteraturblatt für germ,
und rom. Philologie, 1887, 113-114) that the Middle English
pronunciation of _crinǧen_, _sinǧen_, proves early
palatalization, which was, however, not indicated in the writing of
the O.E. words _cringan_, _singan_. And in the same way
palatalization existed in a great many words where it was not
graphically represented. Initial _sc_ was always palatalized (Kluge,
114 above). In the MSS. _k_ seems to represent a guttural, _c_ a
palatal sound of older _c_ (Sievers, 207, 2). Palatalization of _c_
is quite general. _K_ became palatalized to _c_ in primitive Eng.
initially before front vowels, also before Gmc. _e_ and _eu_ (Kluge,
P.G.(2)I, 991). Kluge accepts gutturalizing of a palatal _c_ before
a consonant where this position is the result of syncopation of a
palatal vowel. In the South palatal _c_ became a fricative _ch_.
According to Kluge it never developed to _ch_ in Northern England
and Scotland, but either remained _c_ or recurred to a guttural _k_.
The same is true with regard to _g_. The exact extent of such
palatalization is very difficult to determine. It is possible that
the sound always remained a guttural in the North. We have seen that
_c_ or _g_ did not cause diphthongation of the following vowel in
the North as often as in the South. In view of the fact that
palatalization was not always indicated, this may not prove
anything, but may, however, indicate less palatalization than in the
South. The fact that _e_ or _i_ was sometimes inserted before a
following dark vowel, cp. _ahefgia_, "gravare," _gefragia_,
"interrogare," proves that palatalization in these words, at least,
existed.
12. _SK_ AS A SCANDINAVIAN SIGN. CERTAIN WORDS IN _SK_.
PALATALIZATION IN NORSE.
Wall argues that non-palatalization cannot be regarded as a sign of
Scand. influence and cites a number of words in support of this
conclusion (see Wall, §30). With regard to _dick_, "ditch," and
_sag_, "sedge," Wall is probably right. Those in _sk_ are, however,
not so easily disposed of. The presence of certain words with _sk_
in the South or those cited in _sh_ in the North does not prove the
case. While the presence of a word in South Eng. diall. is in favor
of its genuine Eng. origin, it does not prove it, for certain words,
undoubtedly Scand., are found in the Southern dialects. _Shag_,
"rough hair," Skeat regards as Norse rather than Eng. _Scaggy_,
"shaggy," with initial _sk_, I would regard as Norse from O.N.
_skegg_, not from O.E. _sceagga_. _Shriek_ Skeat regards as Scand.
Bradley derives it from O.L.G. _scricon_ which is found once in the
Heliand. Eng. dial. _skrike_. Wall on the other hand derives it from
O.E. _scricon_, since _scric_ is found. _Scric_ occurs in O.E. as
the name of the shriekbird. The vb. is not found. Whether we regard
"shriek" native or not, _scrike_ is to be derived from O.N.
_skrika_. _Skeer_ is from O.N. _skera_; _sheer_ from O.E. _sceran_.
In form if not in meaning, we have an exact parallel in the M.E.
_skir_, "bright," from O.N. _skir_, and _schir_ from O.E. _scir_. In
a few cases words that seem Scand. appear with _sh_, not _sk_. The
etymology of such words, however, becomes rather doubtful. This is
especially the case where in the Norse word a guttural vowel
followed the _sk_. Where, however, the Norse or Dan. word had a
palatal vowel after the _sk_ the change to _sh_ is not at all
impossible, and here arises the question of palatalization in O.N.
O.N. _skiól_, pron. _sk-iól_, with _sk_, = Norse _skjūl_ (pron.
_shūl_). _Ski_ thus becomes _sh_ in O.N. _skilinn_, Norse _shil_,
O.N. _skilja_, Norse _shilja_ (or _skille_), O.N. _skipta_, Norse
_shifta_. West Norse also shows change of _k_ to _ch_ before _i_
where the _k_ has been kept in East Scand., e.g., O. Ic. _ekki_ =
W.Norse (dial.) _ikkje_ or _intje_, pron. _ittje_, _intje_,
Dan. _ikke_ (_igge_). _I_ between _sk_ and a dark vowel early became
_j_ in Norse, which then gave the preceding _sk_ something of a
palatal nature. The development of O.N. _skiól_ into _shiel_ in
Scotland and England may be explained in this way, as _skiól_ >
_shul_ in Norway. This is, however, to be understood in this way,
that if an _i_ or _e_ followed the _sk_, this was in condition to
become palatalized, not that it was at all palatal at the time of
borrowing. The sound was then distinctly guttural, and the guttural
character of _sk_ has in nearly every case been kept in Scand.
loanwords in English, for palatalization of O.E. _sc_ was completed
before the period of borrowing. This palatalization of _sk_ was
general in Scotland as well as in England, and such words in _sk_
must be regarded as Scand. loanwords.
13. CONCLUSION AS TO THE TEST OF NON-PALATALIZATION.
As initial _sk_, corresponding to O.N. _sk_, O.E. _sc_, is due to
Scand. influence, so, in general, medial and final _sk_ may be also
so regarded: cp. here Sco. _harsk_, "harsh," _bask_ (adj.), _mensk_,
_forjeskit_, etc. The guttural character of _g_ and _k_ in Sco. is
not to be regarded as due to Scand. influence. Thus _mirk_, _reek_,
_steek_, _streek_, _breek_, _dik, rike_, _sark_, _kirn_, _lig_,
_brig_, _rig_, etc., are to be derived from the corresponding O. Nhb.
words, not from O.N. There is something of uncertainty in these
words, however, as they all could come from the O.N. O.N. _hryggr_,
for instance, would become _rig_ in Sco., just as would O. Nhb.
_rycg_ (_rygg_). O.N. _bryggia_ would become _brig_, just as well as
O. Nhb. _brycg_ (_brygg_). The _i_ after _g_ in _bryggia_ does not
hinder this, since, as we know, the O.N. word was pronounced
_brygg-ia_, not _bryddja_, as a later form would be.
14. OLD AND MIDDLE SCOTCH.
After Chaucer, Northumbrian English became a mere popular dialect
no longer represented in literature. But the form of Northumbrian
spoken north of the Tweed, Lowland Scotch, has during the next three
hundred years quite a different history. From the Scottish war of
Independence to the Union of the Crowns, Scotland had its own
literary language. It is customary to speak of three periods of
Scottish language and literature as Old, Middle and New: Old Scotch
extending down to about 1450; Middle Scotch to the Union of the
Crowns; and New Scotch covering the period after the Union. This is,
of course, simply a Northern and later form of the Northumbrian we
have discussed above.
15. SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF SCOTCH. O.E. _ă_, _ā_.
There are no monuments in O.Sco. dating back to the 13th or first
half of the 14th Century. The first of any importance that we have
is "The Bruce" of 1375. By this time the language of Scotland had
already undergone many changes that made its general character quite
different from literary or Midland English. None of these changes
tended so much to differentiate the two as the very different
development of O.E. long and short _a_. In the south O.E. _a_ >
_ē_ (_name_ > _nę̄m_ > _nēm_); but O.E. _ā_ > _ǭ_,
later _ō_ (_stān_ > _stǭn_ > _stōne_, _hām_ >
_hǭm_ > _hōme_). The change of _ā_ to _ǭ_ (probably
about 1200) took place before that of _ă_ to _ā_, else they
would have coincided and both developed to _ō_ or _ē_. The
last is precisely what took place in Scotland. O. Nhb. _ă_ >
_ā_ and early coincided with original _ā_, and along with it
developed to later _ē_, as only short _a_ did in the south. The
two appear together in rhyme in Barbour. Their graphic
representation is _a_, _ai_, _ay_. The sound in Barbour is probably
_ǣ_ or _ę̄_. In "Wallace" Fr. _entré_ is also written
_entray_, _entra_. Fr. _a_ and _ei_ and Eng. diphthong _ai_ (< _æg_)
rhyme regularly with Sco. _a_, _ay_, _ai_, from O.E. _ā_. On O.E.
and O.N. _ā_- and M. Sco. _ē_-sounds in general see Curtis,
§§1-165.
16. CURTIS'S TABLE.
The following (see Curtis §§144-145) illustrates the development of
O.E. _ă_, and _ā_, in England and Scotland:
1. Central Scotland. {O.E. _ă_}
{ } > an _ē_-vowel.
{O.E. _ā_}
2. S. Scotland and {O.E. _ă_}
Ellis's D. 31* { } > _ē_ > an _i_-
in England. { } fracture in
{O.E. _ā_} the mdn. diall.
{ > an _ē_-vowel.
3. The rest of Northern { O.E. _ă_ { > _ē_, later
England and Midland. { { _ī_-fracture in
{ { D 25, 26, 28, 29.
{
{ O.E. _ā_ > _ō_ or _ū_,
with fracture.
4. Southern England { O.E. _ă_ > an _e_-fracture or
{ _i_-fracture.
{ O.E. _ā_ > _ū_ or _ō_.
[*Footnote: Ellis's D 31 = N. W. Yorkshire, Cumberland,
Westmoreland and N. Lancashire.]
In 1. O.E. _hām_ > _hēm_, _năme_ > _nēm_.
In 2. _hām_ > _hēm_ > _hiǝm_, _năme_ > _nēm_ >
_niǝm_.
In 3. _hām_ > _hōm_, _hoǝm_, _hoᵘm_ or _hūm_ with
fracture.
_năme_ > _nēm_.
_năme_ > _nēm_ > _niǝm_ in certain dialects.
In 4. _hām_ > _hūm_, or _hom_.
_năme_ > _neǝm_, _niǝm_.
The intermediate stage of this development, however, is explained
in two ways. According to Curtis it was (in 2) _ā_ > _ę̄_ >
_ē_ > _ī_ > _iǝ_. Luik (§244) shows that
das Vorrücken zum Vocalextrem ist an die Abstumpfung gebunden;
wir finden es nur dort, wo auch Abstumpfung zu constatieren
ist, wäbrend diese selbst ein weiteres Gebiet hat. Schon
daraus folgt, dass die Abstumpfung das Primäre ist, dass also
ihre Basis _e_ war, nicht _i_. Dies wird bestätigt
durch eine einfache Erwägung. Hätte die Abstumpfung die
Lautstufe _i_ ergriffen, so hätte sie auch das _e_
treffen müssen, das ja schon seit Beginn der neuenglischen
Zeit in allen Dialekten durch _i_ vertreten ist. Endlich
bieten die frühesten Zeugnisse nur _e_, nicht _i_,
auch für solche Striche, die heute _i_ haben.
According to this, then, the development is more probably _ā̆ >
ę̄ > ēǝ > iǝ_, or, as Luik thinks, _ā̆_ >
_æ_ > _æǝ_, or _ę̄ǝ_ > _ēǝ_ > _iǝ_.
17. O.E. _ō_.--A LIST OF ILLUSTRATIVE WORDS
FROM THE ABERDEEN DIALECT.
Another Northern peculiarity relates to O.E. _ō_. While in the
south O.E. _ō_ developed to an _ū_-vowel or an _ū_-
fracture, in Scotland it became _ee_ (_ui_, _ee_, _i_). The process
involved here does not yet seem to be fully understood. The modern
dialect of Aberdeen is most pronounced in this respect, older _i_
also frequently becoming _u_, _o_. The following examples taken from
"Johnnie Gibb" (Aberdeen. 1871) will illustrate:
1. Words with an _u_ (o)-vowel in English that have _i_ in
Aberdeen dialect: _ither_, "other"; _mither_, "mother"; _tribble_
(O. Fr. _troble_), "trouble"; _kwintra_ (O. Fr. _contree_),
"country"; _dis_, "does" (3. s. of "do"); _hiz_, "us"; _dizzen_
(O. Fr. _dozaine_), "dozen"; _sipper_ (O. Fr. _soper_), "supper."
Here we may also include, _pit_, "to put"; _fit_, "foot." _Buik_,
"book," seems to show the intermediate stage, cp. also _tyeuk_,
"took." On the other hand O.E. _broðer_ > _breeder_;
(_ge_)_-don_ > _deen_; _judge_ (O. Fr. _juger_) > _jeedge_, all of
which have a short vowel in English recent speech.
2. Words with _ĭ_ in Eng. that have _ŭ_ in Aberdeen dialect:
_full_, "to fill"; _spull_, "to spill"; _buzness_ (cp. O.E.
_bȳsig_), "business"; _wutness_, "witness"; _wull_, "will"
(vb.); _wunna_, "will not"; _wutty_, "witty"; _chucken_,
"chicken"; _fusky_ (Gael. _usquebah_), "whiskey"; _sun_, "sin."
3. Words with _ōō_ (or _iu_) in Eng. have _ee_ (_ī_) in
Aberdeen dialect: _seer_ (O. Fr. _sur_), "sure"; _seen_, "soon";
_refeese_ (O. Fr. _refuser_), "refuse"; _peer_ (O. Fr. _poure_),
"poor"; _yeel_ (M.E. _ȝole_), "yule"; _reed_ (O.E. _rōd_),
"rood"; _eese_ (O. Fr. _us_), "use"; _shee_ (O.E. _scēo_),
"shoe"; _adee_, "ado"; _tee_, "too"; _aifterneen_, "afternoon";
_skweel_, "school"; _reet_ (O.E. _rōt_), "root";
_constiteetion_, "constitution." Cp. also _gweed_ (O.E. _gōd_),
"good." The _w_ in _gweed_, _skweel_, shows again the process of
change from _o_ to _ee_. _U_ in _buik_ and _w_ in _kwintra_ also
seem to represent the _u_-element that is left in the sound. In
words like _refeese_, _keerious_, etc., where _ee_ is from Fr.
_u_, the sound is quite easily explained. So _fusky_ from
_usquebah_. _Full_, from O.E. _fyllan_, and _buzness_ are
interesting.
18. INORGANIC _Y_ IN SCOTCH.
Many words have developed a _y_ where originally there was none.
This phenomenon is, however, closely connected with _e_-_i_-fracture
from original _ā̆_. _Y_ we find appears often before _a_ (from
original _ā̆_). It is, then, simply the development of the
_e_-_i_-fracture into a consonant + _a_, and may be represented
thus: O.E. _āc_ ("oak") > _ę̄c_ > _ēc_ > _ēǝc_ >
_iǝc_ > _yak_. (See also Murray D.S.C.S., 105). Cp. _yance_
and _yence_, "once"; _yell_, "ale"; _yak_, "ache." This also appears
in connection with fracture other than that from O.E. _ā_: cp.
_yirth_, _yird_, for "earth."
19. _D_ FOR THE SPIRANT _TH_.
This appears in a number of words: e.g., _ledder_, "leather";
_fader_ (in Gau), _fadder_, "father"; _moder_, _mudder_, "mother";
_broder_, _brudder_, "brother"; _lidder_ (A.S. _liðre_); _de_ (Gau),
"the" (article); _widdie_ (O.E. _wiðig_), "withy"; _dead_, "death";
_ferde_, "fourth"; etc. In some works this tendency is quite
general. Norse loanwords as a rule keep the spirant, but in the
following loanwords _ð_ has become _d_: _cleed_, _cleeding_,
"clothe, clothing," from O.N. _klæða_; _red_, "to clear up," O.N.
_ryðja_; _bodin_, O.N. _boðinn_ (? See E.D.D.); _bud_, "bribe," O.N.
_boð_; _heid_, "brightness," O.N. _hæið_; _eident_, "busy," O.N.
_iðinn_ (_ythand_ is, however, the more common Sco. form);
_bledder_, "to prate," O.N. _blaðra_ (more commonly _blether_ in
Sco.); _byrd_, "ought," O.N. _burði_; _stiddy_, O.N. _steði_. I do
not think _ryde_, "severe," can be derived from O.N. _reiðr_; and
_frody_, "wise," is rather O.E. _frod_ than O.N. _fróðr_. _Waith_,
O.N. _væiðr_, has kept the spirant, but _faid_, a "company of
hunters," has changed it to _d_. _Faid_ probably comes in from
Gaelic. I have called attention to this change of _ð_ to _d_ in
Sco., since many words affected by it have become almost identical
in form with their Scand. cognates and have consequently been
considered loan-words. See §23.
20. O.E. _ā_ AND O.N. _ÆI_. HOW FAR WE CAN DETERMINE
SUCH WORDS TO BE OF NATIVE OR OF NORSE ORIGIN.
Certain Eng. dialect words in _ē_ corresponding to O.E. _ā_
have been considered Scand. loanwords. We have, however, seen that
in the north O.E. _ā_ > _ē_ just as did O.N. _æi_ (_ei)_. How
many of these words are genuine English and how many are loanwords
becomes, then, rather uncertain. Wall argues that the Norse words
were always in M.E. spelled with a diphthong, while the genuine
English words were spelled with an _a_--thus _bain_, _baisk_ from
O.N. _bæinn_, _bæiskr_, but _hame_, _stane_, _hale_ from O.E.
_hām_, _stān_, _hāl_. If this were always the case we
should have here a safe test. It is, however, a fact that in
Scottish texts at least, no such consistency exists with regards to
these words. The following variant spellings will show this: _hame_,
_haim_, _haym_; _stain_, _stane_, _stayne_; _hal_, _hale, hail_,
_hayle_; _lak_, _lake_, _laik_, _layk_; _blake_, _blaik_, _blayk_,
etc., etc. There is, however, another way in which to determine
which of such words are loanwords and which are not. In Southern
Scotland in D. 33, and in Northwestern England (D. 31), O.N. _æi_
and O.E. _ā_ did not coincide, but have been kept distinct down
to the present time (see Ellis's word-lists and Luik, 220, 221). In
these two dialects O.E. _ā_ developed to an _i_-fracture (see
§16.2), while O.N. _æi_ never went beyond the _e_-stage, and remains
an _e_-vowel in the modern dialects. Here, then, we have a perfectly
safe test for a large number of words. Those that have in D. 31 and
D. 33 an _i_-vowel or an _i_-fracture are genuine English, those
that have an _e_-vowel are Scandinavian loanwords. Ellis's list
offers too few examples of words of this class. We find _hi'm_,
_bi'n_, _hi'l, sti'n_, and in Murray's D.S.C.S. _heame_, and _heale_
(beside _geate_ (O.N. _gata)_, _beath_, _meake_, _tweae_, _neame_,
etc.). This then proves that Sco. _haim_, _bain_, _hail_, and
_stain_ are from O.E. _hām_, _bān_, _hāl_, _stān_ and
not from O.N. _hæim_, _bæinn_, _hæil_, _stæinn_. _Mair_, in spite of
its _e_-vowel, is not from O.N. _mæir_, for a following _r_
prevented the development to _i_, as a rule, although in Cumberland
_meear_ is found beside _mair_. The word "steak" (O.N. _stæik_),
which occurs in Ellis's list, has had an irregular development and
cannot be considered here (see further Luik, 323). In the following
works are found a number of words of this class:
Westmoreland and Cumberland Dialects, by J.R. Smith. London. 1839.
A Glossary of Words and Phrases of Cumberland, by William
Dickinson. London. 1859.
Folk Speech of Cumberland, by Alexander Craig Gibson. London.
1873.
A Glossary of Words used in Swaledale, Yorkshire, by John Harand.
E.D.S. 1873.
Whitby Glossary, by F.K. Robinson. E.D.S. 1876.
21. A LIST OF SOME WORDS THAT ARE NORSE. FURTHER REMARKS.
These all aim at giving the phonetic value of the sounds. O.E., O.N.
_ā_ is represented by _ea_ or _eea_, indicating _i_-fracture. For
instance: _heam_, _steean_, _neam_, _geat_, _beeath_, _leath_ (O.N.
_laði_), _heeal_, _brea_ (O.N. _brā)_, _breead_ (O.E. _brād_,
not O.N. _bræi), greeay_, _blea_, etc. Those that have _a_, _ai_,
or _ay_, that is an _e_-vowel, and must consequently be derived from
the corresponding O.N. words, are the following:
BLAKE, _adj._ yellow, pale, O.N. _blæikr_.
BLAKEN, _vb._ to turn yellow, N.N. _blæikna_.
CLAME, _vb._ to adhere, O.N. _klæima_.
CLAM, _adj._ slimy, deriv.
CLAMING, _sb._ adhesive material, deriv.
FLAY, _vb._ to frighten, O.N. _fleya_.
FLAYTLY, _adv._ timidly, deriv.
HAIN, _vb._ to save, protect, O.N. _hegna_.
LAKE, LAIKE, _vb._ to play, O.N. _læika_, cp. O.E. _lācan_.
LAKEING, _sb._ a toy, deriv.
LAVE, _sb._ the remainder, O.N. _læifr_, cp. O.E. _lāf_.
RATE, _vb._ to bleach, whiten, O.N. _rōyta_. M.L.G. _roten_,
is out of the question, and *_reeat_ would be the form
corresponding to M.L.G. _raten_.
SLAKE, _vb._ to smear, daub, O.N. _slæikja_. O.L.G. _slikken_
does not correspond.
SLAKE, _sb._ a kiss, deriv., cp. O.N. _slæikr_.
SLAPE, _adj._ slippery, O.N. _slæipr_, cp. O.E. _slape_.
SLAPEN, _vb._ to make smooth, O.N. _slæipna_, but possibly
deriv. from _slape_.
SNAPE, _vb._ to restrain, O.N. _snöypa_.
In addition to these, _blain_, "to become white," is a Scand. loan-
word, but rather from Dan. _blegne_ than Norse _blæikna_, cp.
_blake_ above. _Blained_, adj. "half dry," said of linen hung out to
dry, is, of course, simply the pp. of _blain_, cp. Dan. _blegned_.
_Skaif_, "distant, wild, scattered abroad, or apt to be dispersed"
(is the definition given), corresponds exactly to O.N. _skæif_ in
form, but not in meaning. _Skæif_ meant "crooked." Sco. _daive_,
"to stun, stupefy," is here regularly spelled _deeave_ (_deave_ in
Swaledale). It must, then, be derived from O.E. _deafian_, not O.N.
_döyfa_, O. Ic. _deyfa_. Swaledale _slaiching_, "sneaking," is the
same as O.N. _slæikja_, "to lick"; a secondary meaning of O.N.
_slæikja_ is "to sneak"; _keeal_, "kail," could come from O.N. _kál_
or Gael. _cál_. It is probably from the latter. The word _slaister_,
"to dawdle, to waste one's time," is not clear. The sb.
_slaisterer_, "a slink, an untidy person," is also found. The _ai_
indicates an original diphthong. It is probably the same as Norse
_slöysa_, sb. "an untidy person," as vb. "to be untidy, to be
careless." _Ster_ (_slais_ + _ster_) would, then, be an Eng. suffix,
or it may be the same as that in Sco. _camstary_, cp. Germ.
_halsstarrig_. The Norse word _slöysa_ is probably not the direct
source of the Eng. dialect word. _Slaister_, however, for _slöysa_,
seems to be a recent word in Norse. _Skane_, "to cut the shell fish
out of the shell" (Wall, list B), is to be derived from O.N.
_skæina_, rather than from O.E. _scænan_. _Slade_, "breadth of
greensward in plowed land," cannot be from O.N. _slettr_, "plain,"
_sletta_, "a plain." Neither form nor meaning quite correspond. The
Sw. _slägd_ corresponds perfectly in form but not in meaning. It is,
however, probably from O.E. _slæd_. This word is taken from Wall's
list, not from the works named above.
22. CELTIC, LOWLAND SCOTCH, AND NORSE.
In Gaelic and Irish, in the Western Isles and the Highlands,
considerable Norse elements are found as the result of Norse
occupancy that continued in the Isles, at least, for several hundred
years. A number of words that have come into Gaelic and Irish from
Norse are also found in Lowland Scotch. In some cases it seems that
the word has not come into Lowland Scotch direct from Norse, but by
way of Gaelic or Irish. Craigie has given a list of about 200 words
in Gaelic that seem to come from Norse. Out of these I will take a
few that have corresponding words in Scotch:
GAELIC OR IRISH. LOWLAND SCOTCH. OLD NORSE.
gardha garth garðr
lobht loft loft
prine prin prjónn
stop stoup staup
sgeap skep skeppa
sainseal hansell handsal
gaort girt, girth giörð
cnapp, cneap knap knappr
maol mull múli
sgeir sker sker
scarbh scarth scarfr
gead ged, gedde gedda
scát scait skata
brod brod broddr
masg mask _Dan._ maske
rannsaich ransack, runsick rannsaka
_Garth_ and _loft_ agree perfectly with the O.N. and are not
doubtful. With the Gael. _gardh_ cp. O.N. _garðr_ and O. Sw.
_gardher_. The Sco. _garth_ has changed the original voiced spirant
to a voiceless one. In Gael. _lobht_ _f_ has become _v_. _Prin_ is
rather doubtful. There is an O.E. _prēon_ from which the Gael.
word may have come. The Sco. word _prin_ does not seem to come from
either O.E. _prēon_ or O.N. _prjónn_, but from the Gael. _prine_.
There is a Northern dialectic _prēon_ which may come from O.E.
_prēon_. There is also a _pren_ in Dan. dial. _Stoup_ has the
Norse diphthong which has been simplified in Gael. _stop_. _Skep_ is
a little doubtful because of meaning. The loanword _sgeap_ in Gael.
has the specialized meaning of "a beehive." This meaning the Sco.
word has very frequently, the Norse to my knowledge never. It may be
a case of borrowed meaning from Gael. _Girth_ is from the Norse.
_Girt_ is probably simply change of _th_ to _t_, which is also found
elsewhere in Sco. _Knap_ may be from either. _Mull_ in Sco. may be
native English. The word occurs in L.G. _Sker_ is from O.N. _Skarth_
is anomalous, showing change of _f_ to _th_. In the Gael. _scarbh_,
_f_ is changed to _v_ as in _lobht_. _Ged_ is nearer the O.N.
_Scait_ could be from either, as also _brod_. Sco. _mask_ is
probably not at all a loanword, and may be from older _mex_ by
metathesis of _s_; cp. O.E. _mexfat_ and Sco. _maskfat_ cited by
Skeat, Et. Dict. The Gael. _masg_ is probably not a loanword from
the Scand., but from O.E., or perhaps from O.Sco. An O. Nhb. _mesk_
probably existed. _Ransack_ agrees with the Norse word. The spelling
_runsick_ found once (Wallace VII, 120), probably does not represent
the exact sound, and is, in any case, as _ransack_ to be derived
from the O.N. and not through the Gael. _Faid_, "a company of
hunters," has already once been referred to. This cannot possibly
come from the O.N. _væiðr_, for while the spirant _ð_ sometimes
becomes _d_, O.N. _v_ regularly becomes _w_ in Sco. (rarely _v_).
We should expect the form _waith_, and this is the form we have in
Wallace I, 326, in the sense "the spoil of the chase." There is a
Gael. _fiadhoig_, meaning "a huntsman." The first element _fiad_
seems to be the O.N. _veiðr_ with regular change of _ð_ to _d_ (or
_dh_, cp. _gardha_), and _v_ or _w_ to _f_ which is considered a
sign of Gael. influence in Aberdeen Sco., cp. _fat_ for _what_,
_fen_ for _when_, etc., the development probably being _wh_ > _w_ >
_v_ > _f_. _Faid_ in Sco. is then probably from the Gaelic.
23. SOME WORDS THAT ARE NOT SCANDINAVIAN LOANWORDS.
We have spoken in §§10, 13, 20 and 22, of a number of words that
are to be considered regular Sco. developments of O.E. words. The
following words have also generally been derived from the Scand.,
but must be considered native, or from sources other than Norse:
BLAIT, _adj._ backward, must be traced to O.E. _blēat_,
rather than to O.N. _blout_. O.N. _ou_, _au_ is always _ou_
or _oi_ in Sco.
BREID, _sb._ breadth, not Norse _bræidde_ nor Dan. _bredde_,
but native Eng.
CUMMER, _sb._ misery, wail, seems uncertain. It corresponds in
form and usage exactly to Norse _kummer_, but _mb_ > _mm_ is
natural and occurs elsewhere in Sco., cp. _slummer_,
"slumber," which need not be derived from Norse _slummer_ or
any L.G. word. The usage of the word is peculiarly Scand.
DEAD, _sb._ death. Not Dan.-Norse _död_, but English "death."
FALD, _vb._ to fall. Skeat says the _d_ is due to Scand.
influence, but cp. _boldin_ from _bolna_ (older _bolgna_). So
_d_ after _l_ in _fald_ may be genuine. Besides the O.N. word
is _falla_, later Dan. _falde_.
FERDE, ordinal of four, not Norse _fjerde_. See §19.
FLATLYNGIS, _adv._ flatly, headlong, looks very much like Norse
_flatlengs_ and corresponds perfectly in meaning. The Norse
word is, however, a late formation, apparently, and _-lyngs_
is a very common adverbial ending in Sco.
HAP, _vb._ to cover up, to wrap up, cannot come from O. Sw.
_hypia_, as _y_ could not become _a_.
LEDDER, _sb._ leather. Not from Dan. _leder_, for cp. §19;
besides the vowel in the Dan. word is long.
MISTER, _sb._ and _vb._ need, from O. Fr. _mestier_, not from
O.N. _miste_, which always means "to lose," as it does in the
modern diall. The O. Fr. _mestier_ meant "office, trade," and
sometimes "need." The last is the meaning of the modern
_métier_ in the dialects of Normandy. Both meanings exist in
Northern English.
OUKE, _sb._ week. In all probability from O.E. _wucu_ by loss of
initial _w_ before _u_. The Dan. _uge_ does not quite
correspond. The O.N. _vika_ even less. The Danish _uge_ simply
shows similar dropping of _w_ (_v_) as the Sco. word.
RIGBANE, _sb._ backbone. Both elements are Eng. The compound
finds a parallel in Norse _rygbæin_.
SOOM, _vb._ to swim. Not Dan. _sömme_, but loss of _w_ before
_oo_, cp. the two Norse forms _svömma_ and _symma_. Cp.
_soote_, the last word in the first line of the Prologue to
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
TEEM, _vb._ to empty. It is not necessary to derive this from
Norse _tömme_, "to empty." There is an O.E. _tōm_ from
which the Sco. adj. _toom_ probably comes. _Toom_ is also a
verb in Sco. _Teem_ is simply this same word by characteristic
Sco. change of _o_ to _e_. (See §17.) This also explains the
length of the vowel.
TRAK, _vb._ to pull, not necessarily Norse _trekka_, cp. the
L.G. _trekken_.
WID, _sb._ wood. Not O.N. _viðr_ nor Dan. _ved_. The vowel is
against it in both cases. But just as above _toom_ becomes
_teem_, so _wood_ > _wid_, cp. Sco. _guid_, "good," _pit_,
"put," etc. (See §17.) Hence also the shortness of the vowel
in _wid_.
WERE, _sb._ spring, cp. Latin _ver_. _Var_, _vaar_ in Scand.
does not account for the _e_ in the Sco. word.
YIRD, _sb._ earth. Not from Dan. _jord_. See next word.
YIRTH, _sb._ earth, an inorganic _y_ (see §18). Not from O.N.
_jörð_. For _d_ in _yird_ see §19.
24. LOANWORD TESTS.
I have adopted the following tests of form, meaning and distribution
in determining the Scand. source of loanwords:
1. The diphthong _ou_, _ow_ corresponding to O.N. _ou_, O.E. _ea_.
2. _Ai_, _ay_ corresponding to O.N. _æi_, O.E. _ā_ as far as
such words can be determined from modern dialects according to
§20.
3. The spirant _th_ corresponding to O.N. _ð_, and O.E. _d_.
4. Consonantal assimilation of _nk_ to _kk_, _mb_ to _bb_, _mp_ to
_pp_, _ðl_ to _ll_, _zd_ and _rd_ to _dd_, corresponding to
similar assimilation in Scand.
5. Other consonantal and inflexional forms that are Scand., as
opposed to O. Nhb. _d_ for Scand. _d_, O.E. _ð_ excluded, see §§19
and 23.
6. A word that is used in a sense distinctively Scand., as opposed
to Eng. or L.G., is to be regarded as a loanword.
7. The distribution of a word in South England diall., or in O.F.,
O.S. or M.L.G., indicates that the word is not a Scand. loanword.
8. On the other hand, if a word occurs exclusively in Scand.
settlements in England and Scotland, it is to be regarded as due
to Scand. influence in Scotch in spite of L.G. parallels.
9. The presence of a word in O.E. excludes Scand. influence,
except in cases where the O.E. word has been shown to be a
loanword. See Steenstrup and Kluge.
25. REMARKS ON THE TEXTS.
The following dates it may be well to remember:
Barbour's "Bruce" finished about 1375.
Wyntoun's Chronicle written about 1420.
Henry the Minstrel's "Wallace" written about 1450.
Dunbar lived from 1460 to 1520.
Douglas lived from 1475 to 1520.
Sir David Lyndsay lived from 1490 to 1555.
Alexander Scott lived from 1547 to 1584.
"The Complaynt of Scotland" was written about 1549.
Alexander Montgomery lived from 1540 to 1610.
Allan Ramsay lived from 1686 to 1758.
Robert Burns lived from 1759 to 1796.
"The Bruce," Wyntoun's "Cronykale" and the "Wallace" belong, then,
to the early period of Scotch, which, for convenience, has been
called Old Scotch. The last half of the 15th Century is a transition
period. The language of Dunbar and Douglas is already Middle Scotch.
Middle Scotch of the 16th Century is further represented by Lyndsay,
Alexander Scott and Montgomery. "The Complaynt of Scotland" is
Central Scotch of the middle of the 16th Century. Ramsay represents
Early New Scotch. The language of Burns is in all essentials present
Scotch. From the Scottish War of Independence down to the Union of
the Crowns the literary standard of Scotland was Central Scotch.
After the Union there was no longer a Scotch language of literature
and Central Scotch became a mere spoken dialect like the other
dialects of Scotland. The writings of Ramsay and Burns represent
local dialects just as the large number of Scotch dialect writers of
the last and this century have written in their own peculiar local
vernacular. The great majority of loanwords are taken from "The
Bruce," "The Wallace," Douglas, Dunbar, Scott and Montgomery. "The
Bruce" has a large number of Scand. elements; it represents,
however, literary Scotch and not Aberdeen Scotch of 1375. "Johnnie
Gibb," written in modern Aberdeen dialect, has not a very large
Scand. element, while "Mansie Wauch" (modern Edinburgh dialect) has
a far larger number. In "The Wallace" Scand. elements are quite
prominent. So in the writings of Douglas, Scott and Montgomery. "The
Complaynt of Scotland" has comparatively very few loanwords from
Scand., while on the other hand the French element is more prominent
than in the other works. Norse elements are not prominent in
Lyndsay. None of the Scotch writers has as many Scand. words as
Dunbar. We may say that they are nearly as prominent in Dunbar's
works as in the Ormulum, Midland English of about 300 years before
Dunbar's works were written.
The numbers given in the references are self-explanatory. They are
generally to page and line, in some cases to book and verse, as in
Bruce and Wyntoun. T.W.M. refers to Dunbar's "Twa Mariit Wemen."
F. to "The Flyting with Kennedy." F. after Montgomery's name refers
to "The Flyting." G.T. refers to Dunbar's "Golden Targe," and
C. and S. to Montgomery's "Cherrie and the Slae." M.P. to the
"Miscellaneous Poems" and S. to the "Sonnets."
Only words that are specifically Scotch in form or usage have been
included. Very well known Scotch words, that occur in older Scotch
as well as the modern dialects, such as _blether_, _busk_, _ettle_,
_kilt_, etc., are given without references to texts where they have
been found, otherwise one or more references are given in each case.
For the sake of comparison and illustration Shetland and Cumberland
forms are frequently given. Wherever a W. Scand. source is
accepted for a loanword the O.N. form is given if it be different
from O. Ic. Examples from Danish dialects or Swedish dialects are
given as Dan. dial. or Sw. dial. Those from Norse dialects are cited
as Norse simply. Those that are specifically literary Norse are
cited as Dano-Norse.
PART II.
LOANWORDS.
AGAIT, _adv._ uniformly. R.R. 622. Sco. _ae_, one, + O.N. _gata_
literally "ae way," one way.
AGAIT, _adv._ astir, on the way. See Wall.
AGROUF, _adv._ on the stomach, grovelling. Ramsay, II, 339. O.N.
_á grúfu_, id. See _grouf_.
AIRT (ę̆rt), _vb._ urge, incite, force, guide, show. O.N. _erta_,
to taunt, to tease, _erting_, teasing. Norse _erta_, _örta_,
id. Sw. dial. _erta_, to incite some one to do a thing. Sw.
_reta_ shows metathesis. M.E. _ertin_, to provoke.
ALLGAT, _adv._ always, by all means. Bruce, XII, 36; L.L. 1996. O.N.
_allu gatu_. O. Ic. _öllu gǫtu_. See Kluge, P.G.(2)I, 938.
ALGAIT, ALGATIS, _adv._ wholly. Douglas, II, 15, 32; II, 129, 31.
See Kluge, P.G.(2)I, 938.
ALTHING, as a _sb._ everything. Gau, 8, 30, corresponding to Dan.
_alting_. "Over al thing," Dan. _over alting_. Not to be taken
as a regular Sco. word, however. Gau has a number of other
expressions which correspond closely to those of the Dan.
original of Kristjern Pedersen, of which Gau's work is a
translation.
ANGER, _sb._ grief, misery. Bruce, I, 235. Sco. Pro. 29. O.N.
_angr_, grief, sorrow. See Bradley's Stratmann, and Kluge and
Lutz. The root _ang_ is general Gmc., cp. O.E. _angmod_,
"vexed in mind." M.L.G. _anxt_, Germ. _angst_, Dan. _anger_.
The form of the word in Eng., however, is Scand.
ANGRYLY, _adv._ painfully. Wyntoun, VI, 7, 30. Deriv., cp. Cu.
_angry_, painful, O.N. _angrligr_, M.E. _angerliche_. The
O. Dan. vb. _angre_, meant "to pain," e.g., _thet angar mek,
at thu skal omod thorn stride_ (Kalkar).
APERT, _adj._ bold. Bruce, XX, 14. _apertly_, boldly, XIV, 77.
Evidently from O.N. _apr_, sharp, cp. _en aprasta hrið_,
"sharp fighting," cited in Cl. and V. Cl. and V. compares
N.Ic. _napr_, "snappish," cp. furthermore _apirsmert_, adj.
(Douglas, II, 37, 18), meaning "crabbed," the second element
of which is probably Eng. _Apr_ in O.N. as applied to persons
means "harsh, severe" (Haldorson).
ASSIL-TOOTH, _sb._ molar tooth. Douglas, I, 2, 12. See Wall.
AT, _conj._ that. O.N. _at_, Norse, Dan. _at_, to be regarded as a
Scand. word. Might in some places be due to Celtic influence,
but its early presence, and general distribution in Scand.
settlements in England, Scotland, Shetland, etc., indicates
that it is Scand.
AWEBAND, _sb._ "a band used for tying cattle to the stake."
Jamieson, Lothian. O.N. _há-band_, "vinculum nervos poplitis
adstringens" (Haldorson). Norse _habbenda_, "to tie cattle
with a rope between the knees to keep them from running away."
Cp. O. Sw. _haband_, Sw. dial. _haband_, "a rope that unites
the oar with the oarlock."
AWKWART, _prep._ athwart, across. Wallace, III, 175; II, 109. Same
as the Eng. adj. "awkward" which was originally an adv.
Etymologically it is the O.N. _afugr_ (O. Ic. _öfugr_) + Eng.
_ward_ (Skeat), cp. the Norse vb. _afvige_, to turn off.
I have not found the prepositional use of the word in Eng. Cp.
"toward."
AWSOME, _adj._ terrible, deriv. from _awe_ (O.N. _ági_). The ending
_some_ is Eng. O.N. _ágasamr_, Norse _aggsam_, means
"turbulent, restless."
AYND (ēnd), _sb._ O.N. _andi_, breath, O. Sw. _ande_, Norse
_ande_, Dan. _aande_.
AYNDING, _sb._ breathing, deriv. See _aynd_.
AYNDLESS, _adj._ breathless. Bruce, X, 609. See _aynd_.
BAIT, _vb._ to incite. Dunbar, 21127. O.N. _bæita_, O. Ic. _beita_.
See B-S.
BAITH, BATH (bēth), _pron._ both. M.E. _bōþe_, _bāþe_, Cu.
_beatth_, Eng. _both_, O.N. _bāðir_, O. Dan. _bāðe_.
Skeat.
BAITTENIN, _pr. p._ thriving. Jamieson. O.N. _batna_, Eng. _batten_.
See Skeat, and Kluge and Lutz.
BAITTLE (bētl), _sb._ a pasture, a lea which has thick sward of
grass. Jamieson, Dumfries. O.N. _bæita_, "to feed," _bæiti_,
pasturage. Cp. Norse _fjellbæite_, a mountain pasture.
BAN, _vb._ to swear, curse. Dunbar, 13, 47; Rolland, II, 680. O.N.
_banna_, to swear, to curse, _banna_, a curse, Norse _banna_,
to swear, _banning_, swearing, W. Sw. dial. _bænn_ id., Dan.
_bande_, to swear, to wish one bad luck, O.S. _banna_ id.
M. Du. _bannen_ means to excommunicate. This is the L.G.
meaning. The Sco. usage is distinctly Scand. It is also a
Northern word in Eng. diall. Cp. Shetland _to ban_, to swear.
BANG, _vb._ to beat. Sat. P. 39, 150. O.N. _banga_, O. Sw. _banka_,
Norse, _banke_, to beat, to strike. Cp. Shetland _bonga_, in
"open de door dat's a bonga," somebody is knocking, literally
"it knocks" Norse _det banka_. _Bang_ is very frequently used
in the sense of rushing off, cp. Dalrymple's translation of
Leslie, I, 324, 7.
BANGSTER, _sb._ a wrangler. Sat. P. 44, 257. Evidently Norse _bang_
+ Eng. suffix _ster_. See _bang_ vb. Cp. _camstarrie_, where
the second syllable corresponds to that in Germ.
_halsstarrig_.
BARK, _vb._ to tan, to harden. Dunbar F. 202 and 239. Ramsay, I,
164, "barkit lether," tanned leather. O.N. _barka_, to tan,
Norse _barka_, to tan, to harden, M.E. _barkin_. General
Scand. both sb. and vb. In the sense "to tan" especially
W. Scand., cp. Sw. _barka_, to take the bark off. O. Sw.
_barka_, however, has the meaning "to tan."
BARKNIT, _adj._ clotted, hardened. Douglas, II, 84, 15. pp. of vb.
_barken_, to tan. See above.
BASK, _adj._ dry, withering (of wind). Jamieson, Dumfries. Dan.
_barsk_, hard, cold, _en barsk Vinter_, a cold winter. Cp.
Sco. "a bask daw," a windy day. M.L.G. _barsch_ and _basch_ do
not agree in meaning with the Sco. word; besides the _sk_ is
Scand. For loss of _r_ before _sk_ cp. _hask_ from _harsk_.
BAUCH, BAWCH, BAUGH, _adj._ awkward, stiff, jaded, disconsolate,
timid. Sat. P. 12, 58; Dunbar Twa. M.W. 143; Rolland, IV, 355;
Johnnie Gibb, 127, 2. O.N. _bagr_, awkward, clownish,
inexperienced, unskilful. _Bauchly_, poorly, in Ramsay,
II, 397.
BAYT, _vb._ to feed, graze. Bruce, XIII, 589, 591; Lyndsay, 451,
1984. O.N. _bæit_, to feed, to graze, causative from _bita_,
literally means to make to bite. Norse _bita_, to graze,
Sw. _beta_, M.E. _beyten_. In many diall. in Norway the word
means "to urge, to force." Cp. _bait_.
BECK, _sb._ a rivulet, a brook. Jamieson. O.N. _bekkr_, O. Sw.
_bäkker_, Norse _bekk_, O. Dan. _bæk_. Sw. _bäck_, a rivulet.
In place-names a test of Scand. settlements.
BEET, _vb._ to incite, inflame. Burns, 4, 8. Same as _bait_, incite,
q.v. Cp. Cu. "to beet t'yubm, to supply sticks, etc. to the
oven while heating" (Dickinson).
BIG, BEGG, _sb._ barley. Fergusson, II, 102; Jamieson, Dumfries.
O.N. _bygg_, Dan. _byg_. See Wall. Cp. Shetland _big_.
BEGRAVE, _vb._ to bury. Douglas, II, 41, 25; IV, 25, 22; IV, 17, 8.
Dan. _begrave_, Norse _begrava_, O. Sw. _begrava_, _begrafwa_,
to bury. Possibly not a loanword.
BEIN, BENE, BEIN, _adj._ liberal, open-handed, also comfortable,
pleasant. Douglas, III, 260, 23; Fergusson, 108; Sat. P. 12,
43. _Beine_, hearty, in Philotus, II, is probably the same
word. O.N. _bæinn_.
BEIR, _vb._ to roar. Douglas, II, 187, 1. See _bir_, sb.
BIG, _vb._ to build, dwell, inhabit. Dunbar T.M.W. 338; Dalr., I,
26, 19; Sco. pro. 5. O.N. _byggia_. See Wall. Sco. "to big wi'
us," to live with us, cp. Norse _ny-byddja_, to colonize.
BIGGING, BYGINE, _sb._ a building. O.N. _bygging_, a building,
habitation. Scand. diall. all have the form _bygning_, so
O. Sw. _bygning_. The word may be an independent Sco.
formation just as _erding_, "burial," from _erde_, "to bury";
_layking_, "a tournament," from _layke_, "to sport";
_casting_, "a cast-off garment," from _cast_; _flytting_,
"movable goods," from _flyt_, "to move"; _hailsing_,
"a salute," from _hailse_; and Eng. _dwelling_, "a house,"
from vb. _dwell_. Cp. however Shetland _bogin_.
BING, _sb._ a heap, a pile. Douglass, II, 216, 8. O.N. _bingr_,
a heap, O. Sw. _binge_. Norse _bing_ more frequently a heap or
quantity of grain in an enclosed space. O. Dan. _byng_,
_bing_.
BIR, BIRR, BEIR, _sb._ clamor, noise, also rush. S.S. 38; Lyndsay,
538, 4280. O.N. _byrr_, a fair wind. O. Sw. _byr_. Cp. Cu.
_bur_ and Shetland "a pirr o' wind," a gust. Also pronounced
_bur_, _bor_.
BIRRING, _pr. p._ flapping (of wings). Mansie Wauch, 159, 33. See
_bir_.
BLA, BLAE (blē), _adj._ blue, livid. Douglas, III, 130, 30;
Irving, 468. O.N. _blá_, blue, Norse _blaa, blau_, Sw. _blå_,
Dan. _blaa_. Not from O.E. _blēo_.
BLABBER, _vb._ to chatter, speak nonsense. Dunbar F., 112. O.N.
_blabbra_, lisp, speak indistinctly, Dan. _blabbre_ id., Dan.
dial. _blabre_, to talk of others more than is proper. M.E.
_blaber_, cp. Cu. _blab_, to tell a secret. American dial.
_blab_, to inform on one, to tattle. There is a Gael.
_blabaran_, sb. a stutterer, which is undoubtedly borrowed
from the O.N. The meaning indicates that.
BLAIK, _vb._ to cleanse, to polish. Johnnie Gibb, 9, 6. O.N.
_blæikja_, to bleach, O. Sw. _blekia_, Sw. dial. _bleika_. All
these are causative verbs like the Sco. The inchoative
corresponding to them is _blæikna_ in O.N., N.N., _blekna_ in
O. Sw., _blegne_ in Dan. See _blayknit_. Cp. Shetland _bleg_,
sb. a white spot.
BLAYKNIT, _pp._ bleached. Douglas, III, 78, 15. O.N. _blæikna_, to
become pale, O. Sw. _blekna_, Norse _blæikna_ id. O.N.
_blæikr_, pale. Cp. Cu. _blake_, pale, and _bleakken_ with
_i_-fracture. O.E. _blāc, blæcan_.
BLECK, _vb._ put to shame. Johnnie Gibb, 59, 34, 256, 13. O.N.
_blekkja_, to impose upon, _blekkiliga_, delusively,
_blekking_, delusion, fraud; a little doubtful.
BLETHER, BLEDDER, _vb._ to chatter, prate. O.N. _blaðra_, to talk
indistinctly, _blaðr_, sb. nonsense. Norse _bladra_, to
stammer, to prate, Sw. dial. _bladdra_, Dan. dial. _bladre_,
to bleet. Cp. Norse _bladdra_, to act foolishly.
BLATHER, _sb._ nonsense. Burns 32, 2, 4 and 4, 2, 4. O.N. _blaðr_,
nonsense. Probably the Sco. word used substantively.
BLOME, _sb._ blossom. Bruce, V, 10; Dunbar, I, 12. Same as Eng.
_bloom_ from O.N. _blómi_.
BLOME, _vb._ to flourish, successfully resist. Douglas, IV, 58, 25.
"No wound nor wapyn mycht hym anis effeir, forgane the speris
so butuus blomyt he." Small translates "show himself
boastfully." The word _blómi_ in O.N. used metaphorically
means "prosperity, success."
BLOUT, BLOWT, _adj._ bare, naked, also forsaken. Douglas, III, 76,
11; IV, 76, 6. O.N. _blautr_, Norse _blaut_, see Cl. and V.
The corresponding vowel in O.E. is _ea_: _blēat_. The O.N.
as well as the N.N. word means "soft." The O.E. word means
"wretched." In Sco. _blout_ has coincided in meaning with
_blait_. The Dan. word _blot_ is, on account of its form, out
of the question.
BODIN, _adj._ ready, provided. Douglas, III, 22, 24; Dunbar, 118,
36; Wyntoun, VII, 9, 213. From _boðinn_, _boðja_ (E.D.D.).
BOLAX, _sb._ hatchet. Jamieson. O.N. _bolöx_, a poleaxe, Norse
_bolöks_, O. Sw. _bolöxe_, _bolyxe_, O. Dan. _bulöx_, Dano-
Norse _bulaks_. Ormulum _bulaxe_ (see further Brate).
BOLE, _sb._ the trunk of a tree. Isaiah, 44, 19. O.N. _bolr_, the
trunk of a tree, Norse _bol_, _bul_, O. Sw. _bol, bul_, Sw.
dial. _bol_ id.
BOLDIN, _vb._ to swell. Douglas, II, 52; I, II, 130, 25. Norse
_bolna_, older _bolgna_, Dan. _bolne_, M.E. _bollen_ (also
_bolnin_). The Sco. word has developed an excrescent _d_ after
_l_. In Lindsay, 127, 3885, _boildin_, adj. pp. swollen.
BOLLE, _sb._ a measure. Bruce, III, 221; Wyntoun, VII, 10, 519, 521,
523. O.N. _bolli_, a vessel, _blotbolli_, a measure, Sw.
_bulle_. Rather than from O.E. _bolla_ (Eng. _bowl_).
BOUN, _adj._ bent upon, seems to have almost the idea of "compelled
to." Gol. and Gaw. 813. O.N. _búinn_. See Wall under _bound_,
and Cl. and V. under _bua_ B. II.
BOUNE, _vb._ to prepare, to prepare to go, to go. Houlate, I, 23;
Poet. R. 107, I; Gol. and Gaw. 59, 13, 40. See _bown_.
BOWDYN, _pp. adj._ swollen. Dunbar T.M.W. 41, 345; Montg. F. 529.
See _boldin_.
BOWK, _sb._ trunk of the body, body. Dunbar, 248, 25; Rolland, II,
343. O.N. _búkr_, the trunk, the body, Norse _būk_, Dan.
_bug_, O. Sw. _buker_. Specific Scand. usage. O.E. _būc_,
like O.F. _buk_ and Germ. _bauch_, meant "belly."
BOW, _sb._ a fold for cows. Douglas, III, 11, 4. O.N. _ból_, a place
where cows are penned, also den, lair or lying-place of
beasts. Norse _bol_, Shetland _bol_, _bøl_, a fold for cattle.
In Psalms XVII, 12, _bole_ occurs in the sense of "a lion's
den."
BOWN, _adj._ ready, prepared. L.L. 1036. O.N. _búinn_. Not Eng., but
a loanword from O.N., and as Kluge P.G.(2)I, 939, has pointed
out shows also Norse influence in the Midland dial.
BOWNE, _vb._ to swell. Irving, 230. O.N. _bolgna_ to swell, Norse
_bolna_, Dan. _bolne_. Shows characteristic Sco. change of _l_
to _w_. In _boudin_, Irving, 467, an excrescent _d_ has
developed before the _l_ became _u_ (_w_). Wallace, VI, 756,
_bolnyt_, swelled. So in Wyntoun, IX, 17, 5. _Boldnit_ with
excrescent _d_ occurs in Douglas, II, 84, 16.
BRA, BRAE, BRAY (brē), a slope, declivity. O.N. _brá_, see
Bradley's Stratmann. Cp. _Jöstedalsbrä_ in Western Norway.
BRAID (brēd), _sb._ a sudden movement, an assault (Small).
Douglas, III, 251, 2. O.N. _bragð_, a sudden motion, a quick
movement, tricks or sleights in wrestling. O. Sw. _braghþ_,
a sudden motion. Norse, Sw. _bragd_, manner of execution,
exploit. The fundamental idea in the Sco. and the O. Nh. word
is sudden movement. The O.E. _brægd_ meant deceit, fraud.
BRAITH, _adj._ hasty, violent. Wallace, X, 242. O.N. _bráðr_,
sudden, hasty, O. Dan. _braadh_, Norse _braad_. Cp. _braahast_
(E. Norse), great hurry, O. Sw. _brader_, _brodher_, hasty,
violent, Orm. _bra_, angry. _Brothfall_ (Orm), a fit, _broth_
(Eng. dial.), in Skeat's list. _Braithful_, violent, sharp.
BRAITHLY, _adv._ violently, suddenly. O.N. _bráðliga_, hastily. Cp.
E. Norse _braaleg_ adj., and M. Dan. _bradelig_. O.N.
_bráðorðr_ means "hasty of speech."
BROKIT, BRUKIT, _adj._ streaked, spotted. Burns, 569. O. Sw.
_brokoter_, Norse _brokut_, Dan. _broget_, variegated,
striped. Cp. _dannebrog_, the Danish flag. Same as Cu.
_breukt_. Probably the same with Shetland _brogi_, in "a brogi
sky," cloudy. May possibly be Eng. Exists in M.L.G.
BROD, _sb._ a sharp point. Wyntoun, VI, 14, 70. O.N. _broddr_,
Norse, Sw. _brodd_, Orm. _brodd_. (See Brate.)
BROD, _vb._ to prick, spur on, incite. C.S. 123; Douglas, III, 3,
20; Dunbar T.M.W. 330. O.N. _brodda_, to prick, to urge. Dan.
_brodde_ means "to equip with points," a vb. later developed
out of the sb.
BRONT, _sb._ force, rush, shock. Douglas, I, 90, 20; II, 161, 28.
"At the first bront we swept by." See Skeat _brunt_.
BUD, _sb._ a bribe, an offer. Lyndsay, 436, 1616; Dunbar T.M.W. 142.
O.N. _bod_, an offer, Norse _bod_, Sw. _bud_, Dan. dial.
_bud_, an offer at an auction. Cp. O.E. _friðbote_, a peace-
offering, O.N. _frið_ + _boð_.
BUGHT, _sb._ a corner or stall where cows are milked. Ramsay, II,
539. O.N. _bugt_, a bowing, a bight, Norse _bugt_, Dan.
_bugt_.
BULLER, _vb._ to trickle, bubble. Winyet, II, 62. O.N. _buldra_,
Norse _bulrdra_. See E.D.D. cp. Sw. _bullra_, to make an
indistinct noise. O. Fr. _bulder_, L.G. _bullern_ (see
Koolman), Germ. _poltern_ all have more the idea of loud
noise, clamor, as the Norse word sometimes has. Lyndsay, 226,
95, uses the word in this sense. It may be genuine Eng.
BUSK, _vb._ to prepare, dress, adorn, ornament. O.N. _búask_ from
_búa sik_, to make ready, to ornament. See Wall. Exhibits
W. Scand. reflexive ending _sk_. The Gael. _busgainnich_, to
dress, to adorn, is a loanword from O.N.
BUSKIE, _adj._ fond of dress, Jamieson, _busk_ sb. dress,
decoration. See _busk_ vb.
BUITH (ū), _sb._ booth, shop. Winyet, 1, 23, 2. O.N. _búð_, shop,
O. Dan. _both, bodh_. O. Sw. _boð_, Norse _bud_, Sw. _bod_,
Dan. dial. _bod_. M.E. _bōþe_, cp. M.L.G. _bode_.
BYNG, _vb._ to heap up. Douglas, III, 144, 5. See _bing_ sb.
BYRD, _vb._ impers., it behoved. Bruce, VI, 316. O.N. _byrja_, to
behove, beseem, pret. _burði_, Norse _byrja_ id., pret.
_burde_, O. Dan. _böræ_, Sw. _böra_.
BYSNING, _adj._ strange, monstrous, terrible, Douglas, I, 29, 7;
I, 37, 5; II, 70, 17. M.E. _biseninge_, ill-boding, monstrous,
from O.N. _býsna_, to portend, Norse _bisna_, to marvel over.
BYSNING, _sb._ a strange person, an unusually unfortunate person.
Douglas, I, 2544; I, 339. O.N. _býsna_, to portend, _býsn_,
a strange and portentous thing. Norse _bysn_, a prodigy,
_bysning_, curiosity. See the adj. Cp. Shetland _sóni-bosni_,
O.N. _sjonar-býsn_, a marvel.
CADYE, _adj._ wanton. Lyndsay, LXXXVII, 2567. Also written _cady_,
_caidgy_, _caigie_; sometimes means "sportive, cheerful." Dan.
_kaad_, merry, lusty, lustful. So Sw. _kåt_, O.N. _katr_,
merry, cheerful, Norse _kaat_. Cp. Philotus 5, "the carle
caiges," where the same word is used as a vb. to wanton, be
wanton.
CALLER, _adj._ cool. Fergusson, 73. Very common in modern Sco.
diall. O.N. _kaldr_, Norse _kall_, cold. Seems to be a case
of the Norse inflexional _r_ not disappearing in Sco.
CANGLER, a wrangler. Ramsay, II, 482. Norse _kengla_, _kæingla_,
_kjæingla_, to quarrel. A Sco. vb. _cangle_, to quarrel, also
exists. Cp. O.N. _kangin-yrði_, jeering words, Yorkshire
_caingy_, cross, ill-tempered.
CAPPIT, _vb. pret._ strove. Douglas, II, 154, 21. O.N. _kapp_,
contest, zeal, _deila kappi við_, strive with. Norse _kapp_
id. _kappa_, reflexive, to race. Dan. _kamp_, O.E. _camp_,
_cempam_. The Sco. word exhibits W. Scand. assimilation of
_mp_ to _pp_, the form _kapp_, however, also existed in O. Sw.
and exists in N.Dan. In Cu. a _capper_ is one who excels. This
is probably the same word. See, however, E.D.
CAREING (kēr), _pr. p._ driving, from _care_, _caire_, to drive.
Douglas, III, 166, 10; Wallace, IX, 1240. O.N. _köyra_, O. Ic.
_keyra_, Norse _køyra_, to drive, ride, O. Ic. _keyrsla_,
a driving, Norse _kjørsel_, id. Cp. Shetland _care_, id.
Monophthongation in O. Sw. _köra_, Dan. _köre_.
CARL, _sb._ a man, an old man, very frequently with an idea of
disrespect. C.S., 144. O.N. _karl_, Norse _kar_, a man,
fellow, but _kall_, an old man, with assimilation of _rl_ to
_ll_. W.Norse _kadl_ exhibits the change of _ll_ to _dl_. In
Dan. and in Sw. dial _karl_. Cu. _carl_ means a coarse fellow.
Dunbar has the word _wifcarl_, man.
CARLAGE, _adj._ oldish, decrepit. Irving, 172. O.N. _karl_ +
_leikr_.
CARLING, KARLING, CARLINE, _sb._ an old woman, a slatternly woman.
O.N. _kerling_, an old woman, _karlinna_, a woman. O. Dan.
_kærlingh_, O. Sw. _kärling_, Norse _kjæring_, Dan. _kiærling_
(pronounced _kælling_), id. Dan. dial. _kerling_. Cp. Gael.
_cailliach_. Does not seem to exist in Eng. diall. south of
the border.
CARP, KARP, _vb._ to talk, converse. Wyntoun, VI, 18, 313. O.N.
_karpa_. See Skeat Et.D.
CASTINGS, _sb. pl._ cast off clothes. Dunbar's Complaynt, 43. Deriv.
from _cast_. O.N. _kasta_.
CHAFT, _sb._ the jaw, also used vulgarly for the mouth. O.N.
_kjaptr_, the jaw. Norse _kjæft_, vulgar name for the mouth.
O. Sw. _kiäpter_, M. Sw. _käft_, Dan. _kjæft_, M.E. _chaft_.
CHAFT-BLADE, CHAFF-BLADE, _sb._ jaw. Mansie Wauch, 41, 20; 76, 23;
147, 28. Cp. Norse _kjæfte-blad_, id. See _chaft_.
CHOWK, _sb._ jawbone. Dalr., VIII, 112, 14; Isaiah, L, 6. O.N.
_kjálki_, the jawbone, Norse _kjāke_.
CHYNGIEL, _sb._ gravel. Douglas, III, 302, 30. Norse _singl_, see
Skeat, and Wall.
CLED, _pp._ clad, clothed. Wallace, I, 382. O.N. _klæddr_, dressed,
from _klæða_. O.E. _clæðan_, from which N. Eng. _clothe_, was
borrowed from the Scand. in late O.E. See Kluge P.G.(2)I,
932.
CLAG, _sb._ a stain, a flaw. Dalr., VIII, 97, 17. The vowel in O.N.
_kleggi_ does not correspond. It is rather Dan. _klag_, see
_claggit_.
CLAGGIT, _adj._ clagged, literally adhering, sticking, vb. _clag_,
to stick. Lindsay, LXXXVII, 2667. Dan. _klæg_, mud, sticky
clay, as adj. sticky, cp. Cu. _claggy_, adhesive, _clog_, to
stick to, O.E. _clæg_, from which N. Eng. _clay_. Possibly
from an unpalatalized O. Nhb. _clæg_.
Cleading, _sb._ dress, clothing, A.P.B. 110 cp. Norse _klædning_,
Sco. formation, same as clothing in Eng. The Sco. vb. is
_cleed_.
CLECKIN, _sb._ brood of chickens. Burns, 99, 4. Cp. O.N. _klekking_,
chicken, but probably Sco. formation from _cleck_, to hatch,
q.v.
CLEG, _sb._ the gadfly, horsefly. Burns, 88, I. O.N. _kleggi_,
horsefly, Dan. _kleg_. See Wall.
CLEK, _vb._ to hatch. Dunbar, 105; Douglas, II, 198, 3. O.N.
_klekja_, O. Sw. _kläkkia_, Norse _klökkja_, _klöttja_, Dan.
_klække_, Sw. _kläcka_, id.
CLOFF, _sb._ fork, fissure. Montg. F., 60. O.N. _klof_, bifurcation,
O. Dan. _klov_, a rift in a tree, O. Sw. _klovi_, id. Norse
_klov_, a cleft opening. Cp. Sco. _long-cloved_ and Ic.
_klof-langr_.
CLOUR, _vb._ to beat, strike; always used with reference to personal
encounters. O.N. _klóra_, to scratch, Norse _klōra_ id.,
_klōr_ sb. used with reference to the scratch one gets as
the result of a blow. In Sco. _clour_ may also mean the blow
itself.
CLOUR, CLOWRE, _sb._ a scratch or swelling after a blow. Fergusson,
120; Philotus, 153; Douglas, I, 6, 4. O.N. _klór_,
a scratching. Norse _klōr._ Probably Sco. formation.
CLUBBIT, _adj._ clubfooted, clumsy. Montg. S., XXVIII; M.P., 13, 30.
O.N. _klubba_ and _klumba_, Norse _klubba_, Dan., Norse
_klump_. Cp. Eng. _clump_. Söderwall gives _klubba, klobba_,
probably M. Sw. Cp. N.Dan. _klubbe_. Exhibits assimilation of
_mb_ to _bb_ which is general in W. Scand. Also appears to
some extent later in E. Scand. Eng. _club_ is Scand. See
Skeat.
CLUNK, _vb._ to emit a hollow and uninterrupted sound. Jamieson,
Ayr. O.N. _klunka_, Norse _klunka_, to emit a gurgling sound.
O. Sw. _klunka_, Eng. _clink_ shows umlaut.
CLYFFT, _sb._ a cleft, a fissure. Wallace, VII, 859. Norse _klyft_,
_kluft_, Ic. _kluft_, Sw. _klyfta_, Dan. _kloft_. See also
Skeat under _cleft_, and B.S. _cluft_. The Sco. word like the
M.E. exhibits the umlaut which has taken place in some places
in Norway and Sweden.
COG, KOG, COGGIE, _sb._ a keg, a wooden vessel of any kind.
Ferguson, 13; Burns, 195, 51, 2; 195, 50, 6. O.N. _kaggi_,
Norse _kagge_, Dan. Sw. _kagge_, a cask, a barrel. Skeat cites
the form _cag_ for Eng. diall. The Sco. word preserves more
closely the Norse sound, which is not _o_, but _a_. On L.G.
cognates see Skeat Et.D.
COSTLYK, _adj._ costly, magnificent. Wyntoun, VIII, 28, 76; IX, 18,
66, costlike. O.N. _kostligr_, costly, choice, desirable.
O. Sw. _kosteliker_, O. Dan. _kostælic_, N. Dan. _kostelig_,
Norse _kosteleg_, costly, magnificent. Deriv. _costlykly_.
Wyntoun, VII, 5, 96.
COUR, _vb._ to bow, to croutch. O.N. _kúra_, O. Dan. _kuræ_, O. Sw.
_kura_, Norse _kura_, _kurra_, bend down, become quiet, go to
rest. Norse _kurr_, adj. silent, _kurrende still_, perfectly
quiet, cowered to silence. The fundamental idea in the O.N.
word was probably that of "lying quiet." Cp. Shetland _to
cur_, to sit down. Isaiah, LVIII, 5: "His head till cower like
a seggan flouir."
COW, _vb._ to overcome, surpass, "beat." O.N. _kúga_, to compel to
something, to tyrannize over. Dan _kue_, _underkue_, suppress,
oppress, Norse _kua_, press down, also put into subjection.
The more general meaning in the modern diall. is "to beat."
"To cow a'," in Barrie, to beat everything; _cow'd_, Fergusson
117, terrified.
CRAIK, _sb._ crow. Burns, 226, 119, 3, and 121, 1. O.N. _kráka_,
Norse _kraake_, _krauka_, Dan. _krage_, Shetland _kraga_,
crow. See also Wall.
CRAVE, _vb._ to demand payment of a debt, to dun. A regular Sco. use
of the word. O.E. _crafian_ is a loanword from Scand. See
Kluge P.G.(2)I, 933. Cp. Norse _kreva_, to dun.
CROVE, _sb._ hut, cottage. Ramsay, I, 158. O.N. _kró_, a hut,
a little cottage (Haldorson), Norse, _kro_, specialized to
"wine or ale house." So in Dan.
CUNNAND, _adj._ knowing, skilful, dexterous. Wyntoun, VII, 3, 28;
_connand_, V, 12, 1243; Douglas, II, 18, 22. O.N. _kunnandi_,
knowing, learned, Norse _kunnande_, skilled. Deriv.
_cunnandly_, _conandly_ (Wallace, I, 248).
CUNNANDNESS, _sb._ skill, knowledge, wisdom. Wyntoun, V, 12, 280;
VII, 8, 667. Sb. formation from _cunnand_.
DAGGIT, _adj. pp._ soaked. Montg. S., 68, 11. O.N. _döggva_, to
bedew, _döggottr_, covered with dew, Norse _dogga_, id., Sw.
_dagg_, thin, drizzling rain, O. Sw. _dag_, dew, Shetland
_dag_, dew, "he's dagen," it is misting. Cp. Cu. _daggy_,
misty.
DAPILL, _adj._ gray. Douglas, II, 257, 19; Scott 72, 126, "till hair
and berd grow dapill." O.N. _depill_. See Skeat.
DAPPLET, _adj._ spotted, flecked. Burns, VII, 11. See _dapple_ in
Skeat Et.D.
DASH, _vb._ to strike. Burns, 210, 872, 8, 7. O.N. _daska_, to
strike, sb. _dask_, a strike, Norse _daska_, Dan., Sw.
_daska_, M.E. _daschen_. See Bradley's Stratmann.
DE, DEE, _vb._ to die, M.E. _deyen_. Undoubtedly a Scand. loan-word.
Luik (91-93), agreeing with Napier, thinks the word is native
from primitive Gmc. *_daujan_. I think, however, with Kluge,
that if the word had existed in O.E. it would have appeared
earlier. See Kluge P.G.(2)I, 933. O.N. _döyja_, Norse _döi_,
O. Dan. _döia_, Dan, _dö_. On M.E. _deyen_ see Brate.
DEGRAITHIT, _pp._ deprived of. Lyndsay, 523, 3935. Formed from the
sb. _graith_, possessions, hence _degraith_, to dispossess.
Cp. the Eng. parallel. See _graith_.
DEY, DEE, _sb._ maid, woman. A.P.B., 151; Ramsay 399. O.N. _dæigja_,
a dairy maid, Norse _deigja_, servant, _budeie_, dairy maid,
O. Sw. _deghia_, _deijha_, maid, girl, sweetheart, O. Dan.
_deije_, mistress, _deijepige_, servant. The Sco. word has
nearly always the general sense of "woman."
DING, _vb._ to drive, strike, beat, overcome. O.N. _dengja_, to
hammer, Norse _dengja_, _denge_, to whip, beat, O. Sw.
_dängia_ id., Sw. _dänge_, O. Dan. _dænge_, M.E. _dingen_.
A very common word in Sco., used quite generally as Eng.
"beat," in the sense of "surpassing." "To ding a'" = to beat
everything. Cp. "to cow a'."
DIRDUM, _sb._ tumult, uproar. Douglas, I, 117, 9. O.N. _dýra-dómr_,
"doordoom, an ancient tribunal held at the door of the house
of the suspected person, which often was followed by uproar
and bloodshed" (Small). The word appears in Gael. as _durdan_.
DOIF, _adj._ deaf, dull. Irving, 214. See _douff_. For similar
parallel forms cp. _gowk_ and _goilk_; _nowt_ and _nolt_;
_howk_ and _holk_; _lowp_ and _loip_; _bowdyn_ and _boildin_,
etc.
DONK, _adj._ damp, moist. Douglas, II, 196, 32; Dunbar, G.T., 97.
Cu. _donky_. See Skeat under _dank_. Cp. _donk_ sb.
DONK, _sb._ a moist place. Rolland, I, 2. Sw. dial. _dank_, a moist
marshy place, small valley. O.N. _dökk_, a pool, Norse _dok_,
a valley, Shetland _dek_. Exhibits E. Scand. non-assimilation
of _nk_ to _kk_.
DONK, _vb._ to moisten. Dunbar, T.M.W., 10, 512. M.E. _donken_, to
moisten. See _donk_, adj.
DONNART, _adj._ stupid, stupefied. Mansie Wauch, 96, 29. Norse
_daana_, Sw. _dåna_, to faint. For the _r_ cp. dumbfoundered,
M.W., p. 210, 25. An excrescent _r_ appears in a number of
words, so in _dynnart_, a variant of the word above, Dunbar,
T.M.W. 10. Cp. _daunert_, in stupor, Johnnie Gibb, 56, 44,
and _dauner_, to wander aimlessly, Psalms CVII, 40.
DOOCK, DUCK. _sb._ a kind of coarse cloth. Jamieson. Probably in
this case, as the form of the word indicates, from O.N.
_dúkr_, O. Sw. _dūker_, cloth. Cp. Norse _dūk_, Dan.
_dug_, Sw. dial. _duk_. Skeat derives the Eng. _duck_ from Du.
_dock_, but the Sco. word agrees more closely with the Norse.
DOSEN, _adj._ stupefied. Burns 220, 107, 2. Cp. Cu. _dozent_,
stupefied, and Mansie Wauch, 207, 24, _dozing_, whirling,
sprawling. The Norse work _dusen_ has the same meaning as
_dosen_ above. The form _dosynt_, pp. dazed, stunned (Burns),
is to be explained from a Sco. vb. _dosen_ (not necessarily
_dosnen_ in Scotland), corresponding to M.E. _dasin_, O.N.
_dasa_. See Skeat under _doze_.
DOWFF, DOUF, DOLF, _adj._ deaf, dull, melancholy, miserable.
Douglas, II, 63, 11; Burns, 44, 4. O.N. _daufr_, deaf, Norse
_dauv_, drowsy, dull, _dauva_, make drowsy. See _dowie_.
DOWIE, DOWY, _adj/_ melancholy, dismal. O.N. _doufr_, dead, drowsy.
Norse _dauv_, _dau_, id. Cp. Sco. _doolie_ and Ir. _doiligh_,
mournful, O.N. _daufligr_, dismal.
DOWLESS, _adj._ careless, worthless. Isaiah, 32, 11. O.N.
_duglauss_, Norse _duglaus_, good for nothing, said of a person
who has lost all courage or strength, as opposed to _duglegr_,
capable. Norse _dugløysa_, weakness, inability. Cp. Dan.
_due_, to be able. Germ. _taugen_.
DRAIK, _vb._ to drown, drench. Lyndsay, 247, 714; _draikit_, Isaiah,
I, 22. Apparently from O.N. _drekkja_, to drown, to swamp. The
vowel is difficult to explain. The Cu. form _drakt_, drenched,
wet, indicates a verb, _drak_. The change in vowel would then
be similar to that in _dwall_ from O.N. _dvelja_, Eng.
_dwell_. Uncertain.
DRAM, _sb._ a drink. Fergusson, 40; Mansie Wauch, 9, 9; 90, 2. Norse
_dram_, a drink, always used with reference to a strong drink,
so in Sco. Dan. _dram_, as much of a strong drink as is taken
at one time (Molbeck). O. Sw. _dramb_, drinking in general,
carousing. This usage of _dram_ is distinctively Scand. and
Sco. Cp. Eng. _dram_, Sco. vb. _dram_, to furnish with drinks.
DRAWKIT, _adj._ drenched. Dunbar 142, 102; Douglas, I, 56, 12; III,
303, 8. See _draik_. The vowel is difficult to explain.
Absence of _n_ before the _k_ proves that it is either a
Scand. loanword direct, or a Sco. formation from one. There is
no Scand. word from which _drawkit_ could come. It may be a
Sco. formation from _draik_. For change of _ai_ to _aw_ cp.
_agent_ and _awgent_; _various_ and _vawrious_, in Aberdeen
dial. The M. Dan. _drockne_, N. Norse _drokna_, would hardly
account for _aw_ in _drawkit_.
DROOK, to drench, to drown. Isaiah, XVI, 9; LV, 10; Psalms, VI, 6.
Cannot come from O.N. _drekkja_. Probably from O.N. _drukna_,
to drown, Norse _drukna_, O. Dan. _dronkne_, by lengthening of
the vowel. Cp. Cu. _drookt_, severely wet. The following
infinitive forms also occur, _draik_, _drowk_, _drawk_.
DROUKIT, _adj._ drenched. Fergusson, 40. See _drook_.
DRUCKEN, DRUKEN, _adj._ drunken, addicted to drink. O.N., Norse
_drukken_, pp. of _drikka_, to drink. Early E. Scand. has the
unassimilated form. Cp. O. Dan. _dronkne_, _drone_. Later Dan.
_drougne_, _drocken_. Early Sw. _drokken_.
DUDDY, _adj._ ragged. Fergusson, 146; Burns, 68, 48. See _duds_.
Cp. Cu. _duddy fuddiel_, a ragged fellow.
DUDS, _sb. pl._ rags, clothes, O.N. _dudi_, "vestes plumatae"
(Haldorson), _duda_ (_duða_), to wrap up heavily, to swaddle.
Gael. _dud_, rag, is a loan-word from O.N. It is possible that
the word may have come into Lowland Sco. by way of Gael.
EGG, _vb._ to urge on, to incite. O.N. _eggja_, goad, incite, Norse
_egga_, Dan. _egge_, id. The word is general Gmc., but this
specific sense is Scand. Cp. O. Fr. _eggia_, to quarrel, to
fight. M.L.G. _eggen_, to cut, to sharpen a sword.
EGGING, _sb._ excitement, urging. Bruce, IV, 539. See _egg_.
EIDENT, YDAN, YTHAND, _adj._ diligent. Dalr., I, 233, 35; Fergusson,
94; Douglas, I, 86, 17. O.N. _iðinn_, assiduous, diligent,
_iðja_, to be active. Norse _idn_, activity, industry. Cp.
Dan. _id_, _idelig_.
ELDING, _sb._ fuel. Dalr., I, 10, 8. O.N. _elding_, firing, fuel.
Norse _elding_, id. Cu. _eldin_. From O.N. _eldr_, fire.
Cp. Shetland _eld_, fire. See N.E.D.
ELDNYNG, _sb._ passion, also jealousy. Dunbar, 36, 204; 119, 126,
literally "firing up." O.N. _eldr_, fire. Cp. Sw. _elding_.
ENCRELY, YNKIRLY, _adv._ especially, particularly. Bruce, I, 92;
I, 301; X, 287. O.N. _einkarlegr_, O. Dan. _enkorlig_, O. Sw.
_enkorlika_, adj. adv. special, especially. Cp. Norse
_einkeleg_, unusual, extraordinary. See B-S and Skeat's
glossary to Barbour's Bruce.
END, _sb._ breath. Sat. P., 42, 63. See _aynd_.
END, _vb._ to breathe upon. Dalr., I, 29, 6. O.N. _anda_, Norse
_anda_, breathe, M.E. _anden_.
ERD, _vb._ to bury. Dunbar, F., 372; Douglas, II, 266, 10; Bruce,
XX, 291. O.N. _jarða_, to bury, O. Sw. _iorþa_. O.E. _eardian_
meant "to dwell, inhabit." See further Wall. A case of
borrowed meaning, the form is Eng.
ERDING, _sb._ burial. Bruce, IV, 255; XIX, 86. See _erd_ vb.
ESPYNE, _sb._ a long boat. Bruce, XVII, 719. O.N. _espingr_,
a ship's boat, Sw. _esping_.
ETTIL, ETIL, _sb._ aim, design. Douglas, II, 249, 13; II, 254. See
_ettil_ vb.
ETLYNG, _sb._ aim, endeavor, intention. Bruce, II, 22; I, 587; R.R.,
1906. Probably a deriv. from _ettle_, see below, but cp. O.N.
_etlun_, design, plan, intention.
ETTLE, ETTIL, _vb._ to intend, aim at, attempt. O.N. _ætla_, intend,
O. Dan. _ætlæ_, ponder over, Norse _etla_, intend, determine,
or get ready to do a thing. Cu. _ettle_, York, _attle_. In
Isaiah, LIX, colophon, _ettle_ signifies "means, have the
meaning."
FALOW, _vb._ to match, compare. R. R., 3510. Also the regular form
of the sb. in Sco., O.N. _félagr._ See Skeat, B-S under
_fēlaȝe._ The Sco. vowel is long as in O.N. and M.E. The
tendency in Sco. is toward _a_ in a great many words that have
_e_ in Eng. Cp. Aberdeen _wast_ for _west_; _laft_ for _left_;
_stap _ for _step_; _sattlit_ for _settled_, S. Sco. _wat_ for
_wet_. Similar unfronting of the vowel is seen in _prenciple_,
_reddance_, _enterdick_.
FANG, _vb._ to catch, seize. O.N. _fanga_, to fetch, capture. Norse
_fanga_, Dan. _fange_. This word in Northern England and
Scotland is to be regarded as a Scand. loan-word. The word
_fangast_, a marriageable maid, cited by Wall, proves this.
Literally the word means something caught (cp. Norse
_fangst_). This meaning could not possibly have arisen out of
the O.E. word, but is explained by the Norse use of it and the
peculiar Norse custom, cp. _fanga kǫnu_, to wed a woman,
_kvan-fang_, marriage, _fangs-tið_, wedding-season, Norse
_bryllöp_ < _brudlaup_, the "bride-run." Wall suggests that it
may come from the root of O.E. pp. _gefangen_. Its presence in
S.Eng. diall. in the meaning "to struggle, to bind," may be
explained in this way.
FARANDNESS, _sb._ comeliness, handsomeness. R.R., 1931. See
_farrand_. Cp. _cunnandness_, from pr. p. _cunnand_.
FARRAND, _adj._ appearing, generally well-appearing, handsome, e.g.,
_a seemly farrand person_. The word frequently means "fitting,
proper," O.N. _fara_, to suit, to fit, a secondary sense of
_fara_, to go.
FEIR, FER, _adj._ sound, unharmed. O.N. _færr_, safe, well, in
proper condition, originally applied to a way that was in
proper condition or a sea that was safe, e.g., _Petlandsfjörðr
var eigi færr_, the Pentland Firth was not safe, could not be
crossed. Norse _før_ also has this same meaning, also means
"handy, skillful," finally "strong, well-built." Dan., Sw.
_för_, able. So in Dunbar, 258, 51. Sometimes spelled _fier_.
FELL, _sb._ mountain. O.N. _fjald_, Norse _fjell_. See Wall.
FILLOK, _sb._ a giddy young woman. Douglas, III, 143, 10; Lyndsay,
87, 2654. Diminutive of _filly_, q.v.
FILLY, _sb._ a chattering, gossipy young woman. Ramsay, II, 328.
Sco. usage. See Skeat under _filly_, O.N. _fylja_.
FIRTH, _sb._ a bay, arm of the sea. O.N. _fjörðr_, O. Sw.
_fjördher_. See Skeat.
FLAKE, _sb._ a hurdle. Douglas, IV, 14, 10. O.N. _flaki_, a hurdle,
or shield wicker-work. Norse _flake_, Sw. _flake_ and O. Sw.
_flaki_. Cu. _flaks_, pieces of turf, is probably the same.
Cp. Norse _flake_, in _kote-flake_.
FLAT, _adj._ dull, spiritless. Rolland, Prol. 16. O.N. _flat_, Norse
_flat_, ashamed, disappointed, _fara flatt fyrir einem_, to
fare ill, be worsted, O. Dan. _flad_, weak.
FLECKERIT, _pp. adj._ spotted. Gol. and Gaw., 475. O.N. _flekkr_,
a spot, _flekkóttr_, spotted. The _r_ in the Sco. word is
frequentative, not the inflexional ending of the O.N. See also
Skeat under _fleck_.
FLEGGER, _sb._ a flatterer. Dunbar, F., 242. Dan. dial. _flægger_,
false, _flægre_, to flatter.
FLINGIN TREE, _sb._ a piece of timber hung by way of partition
between two horses in a stable (Wagner), Burns, 32, 23. O.N.
_flengja_, Norse _flenga_, _flengja_, to fling, to sling. Sw.
_flänga_, O. Ic. _flengja_, to whip up, to cause to hurry, to
ride furiously. The Norse and the Dan., like the English, do
not have the primary meaning seen in O. Ic. and N.Sw. See
further Skeat.
FLIT, _vb._ to move, change abode. O.N. _flyttja_, Norse _flytta_,
O. Dan. _flyttæ_, O. Sw. _flyttia_, to move, M.E. _flytten_
. The O.N. _flyttja_ meant "to migrate," as also the M.E. word,
otherwise the usage is the same in all the Scand. languages.
Sco. _flit_ is to be derived from O.N. not from Sw.
FLYRE, _vb._ to grin, leer, whimper, look surly. Montg. F., 188.
Dunbar, T.M.W., 114. O.N., _flira_, Norse _flira_, smile at,
leer, laugh, Dan. _flire_ to leer, M.E. _fliren_. The three
words _flina_, _flira_ and _flisa_ in Scand. mean the same.
Cu. _fliar_, to laugh heartily. See also Wall.
FLYTTING, _sb._ furniture, moveable goods. Wyntoun, VIII, 38, 50. In
Wallace simply in the sense of removal. O.N. _flutning_,
transport, carriage of goods. The Sco. word is probably a
deriv. from _flyt_, as indicated also by the umlauted vowel.
FORELDERS, _sb. pl._ parents. Gau. 15, 2. Dan. _forældre_, Sw.
_föräldrar_, Norse _foreldre_, parents. In the sense
"ancestors" the word is general Gmc, but the above use is
specifically Scand. In Sco. the word usually has the general
sense. Gau has Dan. elements that are not to be found in other
Sco. works.
FORJESKIT, _adj._ jaded, fatigued. Burns, 44, 29. Dan. _jask_ adj.,
_jaske_ vb. to rumple, put in disorder, _jask_, a rag,
_jasket_, _hjasket_ left in disordered condition. Dan. dial.
_jasked_, clumsy, homely. Sw. dial. _jaska_, to walk slovenly
and as if tired, _jasked_, adj. in bad condition. R.L.
Stevenson in "The Blast" uses _forjaskit_ in the sense of
"jaded." The prefix _for_ may be either Eng. or Dan.
FORLOPPIN, _adj._ renegade. Sat., p. 44, 243. The pp. of _loup_, to
leap, to run, with intensive prefix _for_. See _loup_. Cp. the
Norse _forloppen_ from _læupa_, used precisely in the same
way, and the Dan. dial. _loben_. _Forloppin_ as sb., Dunbar,
139. See also _loppert_.
FORS, _sb._ a stream. O.N. _fors_, N.Ic. and Norse _foss_, Dan., Sw.
_foss_, stream, waterfall, O.N. _forsa_, to foam, spout. The
word is very common in Norway, not so common in Sweden and
Denmark.
FORTH, _sb._ Dunbar, 316, 63. Same as _firth_.
FRA, FRAE, _prep._ and _conj._ from, since. Aberdeen form _fae_.
O.N. _frá_, from, Dan. _fra_, Norse _fra_, Sw. _frå_. Deriv.
from "from," according to Wall, by analogy of _o'_, etc. I do
not believe so. It is first found in Scand. settlements and is
confined to them. Besides _m_ would not be likely to fall out.
The case is quite different with _f_ and _n_ in "of" and "in"
when before "the." Furthermore, the conjunctive use of _fra_
as in Sco. is Norse.
FRECKLIT, FRECKLED, _adj._ flecked, spotted, differing slightly from
the Eng. use. Douglas, II, 216, 5; Mansie Wauch, 18, 5,
"freckled corn." O.N. _freknur_. See Kluge and Lutz, and
Skeat. In M.W. above: "The horn-spoons green and black
freckled."
FREND, _sb._ relation, relative. Wyntoun, VII, 10, 354. O.N.
_frændi_, kinsman, O. Dan. _frændi_, Norse _frænde_, Sw.
_frände_, id. O.E. _frēond_, O.H.G. _friunt_, O. Fr.
_friond_, _friund_, M.L.G. _vrint_, "friend." Cp. the Sco.
proverb: "Friends agree best at a distance," relations agree
best when there is no interference of interests, Jamieson.
FRESTIN, _vb._ to tempt, taunt, also to try. Gol. and Gaw., 902,
911; Ramsay, I, 271. O.N. _fræista_, to tempt, Norse
_freista_, _frista_, to tempt, try, O. Sw. _fresta_, Dan.
_friste_, Sw. dial. _freista_, to attempt, O.E. _frāsian_.
GANAND, _adj._ fitting, proper. Dunbar, 294; Douglas, II, 24, 19.
Pr. p. of _gane_. Cp. Eng. fitting. See _gane_.
GANE, _vb._ to be suitable. L.L., 991; Rolland, II, 135. O.N.
_gegna_, to suit, to satisfy, from _gegn_. O. Sw. _gen_, same
root in Germ. _begegnen_. See further Kluge. Entirely
different from _gane_, to profit.
GANE, _vb._ to profit. L.L., 131; R.R., 1873. O.N. _gagne_, to help,
be of use, _gagn_, use, profit, Norse _gagna_, id., O. Sw.
_gaghna_, to profit, Dan. _gavne_.
GANE, _sb._ the mouth and throat. Douglas, III, 168, 26. Cannot come
from O.E. _gin_, O.N. _gin_, mouth, because of the quality of
the vowel, is, however, Norse _gan_, _gane_, the throat, the
mouth and throat, Sw. _gan_, gap, the inside of the mouth.
GAIT, GATE, GAT, _sb._ road, way, manner. O.N. _gata_, O. Dan.
_gatæ_, M.E. _gāte_. See Wall. Cp. Northern Eng. "to gang
i' that rwoad," to continue in that manner.
GARTH, GAIRTH, _sb._ the yard, the house with the enclosure,
dwelling. O.N. _garðr_, a yard, the court and premises, O. Sw.
_garþer_, _gardh_, the homeplace, Dan. _gaard_, M.E. _garth_,
and _yeard_ from O.E. _geard_, Cu. _garth_, Shetland _gard_.
Is in form more specifically Norse than Dan. Occurs in a
number of place-names in South Scotland, especially Dumfries.
See I, §3.
GATEFARRIN, _adj._ wayfaring, in the sense of fit to travel, in
suitable apparel for travel. Johnnie Gibb, 12, 35. Wall
distinguishes rightly between the O.N. and the Eng. use of the
word _fare_. This Scand. use of the word is confined to Norway
and Iceland, and is, at any rate in the later period, more
characteristic of Icelandic than Norse. Cp. a similar use of
the word _sitta_, in Norse, to look well, said of clothes that
look well on a person. Not quite the same.
GAWKY, _adj._ foolish. Burns, 78, 60. From _gowk_. Cp. _gawkish_.
GEDDE, _sb._ a pike (fish). Bruce, II, 576; Sat. P. I, 53, 9. O.N.
_gedda_, the pike, Dan. _gjedde_, Sw. _gädda_. Not in M.E.,
except in Sco. works, and does not seem to exist in Eng.
diall.
GEMSAL, YEMSEILL, YHEMSALE, _sb._ concealment, secrecy. Bruce, XX,
231; Wyntoun, VIII, 19, 206; VIII, 36, 84. O.N. _göymsla_,
O. Ic. _geymsla_, Norse _gøymsla_, _gøymsel_, concealment.
Dano-Norse _gjemsel_. The ending _sal_ is distinctively Scand.
Cp. _trængsel_, misery; _længsel_, longing; _hørsel_, hearing;
_pinsel_, torture; _trudsel_, threat; _opførsel_, conduct;
Sco. _tynsell, hansell_, etc.
GENȝELD, _sb._ reward, recompense. Douglas, II, 100, 12; II,
111, 17; Scott, 59, 62. O.N. _gegn-gjald_, reward, O. Dan.
_gengæld_, _giengiald_ id., _giengielde_, to reward, Norse
_gjengjæld_. _Gen_ is the same as the _gegn_ in _gegna_, to
suit, _-ȝeld_ can be either Scand. or Eng. The palatal _g_
is also Scand. in this word. The compound _genȝeld_ is
Scand. In Sco. also spelled _ganȝeld_, _gaynȝeild_.
GER, GAR, _vb._ to make, cause, force. O.N. _gera_ (Cl. and V.).
O. Dan. _göræ_, Sw. _göra_, Norse _gjera_, to do, to make.
O. Nh. _görva_. _Gar_ is the modern form which exhibits
regular Sco. change of _er_ to _ar_. Cp. _serk_, _sark_;
_werk_, _wark_.
GESTNYNG, _sb._ hospitality. Douglas, III, 315, 8. O.N. _gistning_,
a passing the night as a guest at a place, _gista_, vb. to
spend the night with one, _gestr_, guest. O. Dan. _gæstning_,
O. Sw. _gästning_, _gistning_.
GLETE, GLEIT, _vb._ to glitter. Douglas, I, 33; II, 88, 16; Montg.
C. and S., 1288; Dunbar, G.T., 66. O.N. _glita_, to glitter,
Dan. _glitte_. Cp. Shetland _glid_, a glittering object. O.E.
_glitnian_ > M.E. _glitenien_, as O.E. _glisnian_ > M.E.
_glistnian_, N. Eng. _glisten_. The M.E. _glitenian_ (N.Eng.
*_glitten_) was replaced by the Scand. _glitter_.
GLEIT, _sb._ literally "anything shining," used in Palace of Honour,
II, 8, for polish of speech. See the vb.
GLEY, _sb._ a look, glance, stare. Mansie Wauch, 85, 10; 117, 37.
See Wall, _gley_, to squint, B-S. _glien_. Cp. Sw. dial.
_glia_.
GLEG, _adj._ sharp. See Wall, deriv. _glegly_, quickly.
GLITTERIT, _adj._ full of glitter. Dunbar, T.M.W., 30. See _glitter_
in Skeat.
GOWK, _sb._ a fool. O.N. _gaukr_, Norse _gæuk_, O. Sw. _göker_, Dan.
_gjög_. In Sco. very frequently spelled _goilk_, _golk_. Cu.
_April-gowk_, April fool.
GOWL, _vb._ to scream, yell. O.N. _gaula_, Norse _gæula_, to yell,
to scream. Shetland _gjol_, _gol_, to howl, seems to be the
same word, but the palatal before _o_ is strange. Cp. Sco.
_gowle_.
GOWLYNGE, _sb._ screaming, howling. R.R. 823, pr. p. of _gowl_.
Cp. O.N. _gaulan_, Norse _gæuling_, sb. screaming.
GRAIP, _sb._ a dung-fork. Burns, 38, 1, 2. Johnnie Gibb, 102, 18;
214, 21. Norse _græip_, id., Dan. _greb_, a three-pronged
fork.
GRAITH, _adj._ ready, direct. Bruce, IV, 759; Wallace, V, 76. O.N.
_græiðr_, ready, Norse _greid_, simple, clear, ready. Deriv.
_graithly_, directly, Gol. and Gau. 54. Cp. Yorkshire
_graidly_, proper.
GRAITH, _vb._ make ready, dress, furnish, equip. C.S., 39; R.R.,
424; Psalms XVIII, 32. O.N. _græiða_, to disentangle, set in
order, make ready. Norse _greide_, to dress (the hair). Cu.
_graitht_, dressed.
GRANE, _sb._ twig, branch. Douglas, II, 10, 27; Dunbar, 76. O.N.
_græin_, Norse _grein_, Dan. _gren_, O. Sw. _gren_, branch.
The Dan. and Sw. forms show monophthongation. The Sco. word
agrees best with the Norse.
GRANIT, _adj._ forked. Douglas, II, 133, 4. O.N. _græina_, to
branch, divide into branches, separate. Norse _græina_, Sw.,
Dan. _grena_, id., O. Sw. _grenadh_, adj. forked, Cu.
_grainet_.
GRAYTH, GRAITH, _sb._ equipment, possessions. Dunbar, 229; Lyndsay,
154, 4753; Burns, 23, 18. O.N. _græiða_, means "tools,
possessions," originally "order." Cp. the vb. In Douglas,
III, 3, 25, _graith_ means "preparation."
GRAITHLY, _adv._ directly, speedily. Bruce, XIX, 708; X, 205. O.N.
_græiðliga_, readily, promptly.
GRITH, _sb._ peace, truce. Wallace, X, 884. O.N., O. Dan. _grið_,
truce, protection, peace. O. Sw. _grið_, _gruð_. Occurs very
often in the parts of the A-S. Chronicle dealing with the wars
with the Danes, for the first time in 1002. "_Frið and grið_,"
meant "truce," or "peace and protection." See Steenstrup's
discussion of these words, pp. 245-250.
GROUF, on growfe, _adj._ prone, on one's face. Douglas, IV, 20, 24;
Dunbar, 136, 12. O.N. _á grúfu_, grovelling. Norse _aa gruva_,
id., O. Sw. _a gruvo_. Sw. diall. _gruva, å gruv_, Dan. _paa
gru_.
GRYS, GRYCE, _sb._ a pig. Douglas, II, 143, 14; Lyndsay, 218, 300;
Montg., F., 88. O.N. _griss_, a young pig, swine, O. Dan.
_gris_, Norse _gris_.
GUKK, _vb._ to act the fool. Dunbar, F., 497. Probably to be derived
from _gowk_, sb. a fool. It cannot very well come from _geck_,
to jest, the vowels do not correspond. In Poet. R., 108, 5,
_gukit_ means "foolish, giddy."
GYLL, _sb._ cleft, glen, ravine. Douglas, III, 148, 2; Sat. P., 12,
71. O.N. _gil_, a narrow glen with a stream at the bottom,
Norse _gil_, _gyl_, a mountain ravine. Cp. Cu. _gill_,
_ghyll_.
GYLMYR, _sb._ a ewe in her second year. C.S., 66. O.N. _gymbr_,
a ewe lamb a year old, also _gymbr-lamb_, Norse _gymber_,
Dan. _gimber_, M.E. _gimbir_, _gimbyr_, Cu. _gimmer_. In
northwestern England and Scotland assimilation of _mb_ to
_mm_ took place. Our word has excrescent _l_, cp. _chalmer_,
not uncommon.
GYRTH, _sb._ a sanctuary, protection. Bruce, IV, 47; II, 44; C.S.,
115. O.N. _grið_, a sanctuary, a truce. O. Sw. _grið_, _gruð_,
M.Norse _gred_, protection. Cu. _gurth_, cp. _grith_.
GYRTH _sb._ a hoop for a barrel, the barrel. R.R., 27, 81. O.N.
_gjörð_, a girdle, a hoop, Dan. _gjord_, Norse _gjord_,
_gjaar_, _gjoir_, hoop, girdle, O.E. form _gyrd_. Cp. O.N.
_girða_, to gird, and _girði_, wood for making hoops.
GYRTHYN, _sb._ saddle-strap, saddle-band. Wyntoun, VIII, 36, 64.
O.N. _gjörð_. See Skeat, _girth_. Our word is not nominative
pl. as the editor of Wyntoun takes it, but is the singular
originally pr. p. of _girth_, to gird, to strap. In Poet. R.
113, occurs the form _girthing_. Cp. Cu. _girting_,
_girtings_.
HAILSE, _vb._ to greet, salute. Bruce, II, 153; C.S., 141. O.N.
_helsa_, older _hæilsa_, to hailsay one, to greet, O. Sw.
_helsa_, Dan. _hilse_, Norse _helsa_, id., M.E. _hailsen_.
This word is entirely different from O.E. _healsian_, which is
_heals_ + _ian_ and meant "beseech, implore," literally
"embrace." The form of this was _halsian_ in O. Nhb., from
which Sco. _hawse_, to embrace.
HAILSING, HALSING, _sb._ a salute, greeting. Douglas, II, 243, 31;
Dunbar "Freires of Berwick" 57; Rosw. and Lill. 589. O.N.,
O. Sw., Norse _helsa_, see above; Norse _helsing_, Dan.
_hilsning_, a greeting. _Hailsing_ formed direct from the vb.
_hailse_.
HAINE, _vb._ to protect, save. Fergusson, 171; Psalms LXXVIII, 50;
LXXX, 19; _we're hain'd_, we are saved. O.N. _hegna_, to hedge
in, protect, _hegnaðr_, defence, Norse _hegna_, Dan. _hegne_,
O. Sw. _häghna_, to hedge in for the sake of protecting. Cu.
_hain_.
HAINED, _pp. adj._ sheltered, secluded, cp. _a hained rig_, Burns,
8, 1. In modern usage very frequently means "saved up,
hoarded," so _hained gear_, hoarded money. See _haine_ above.
HAININ' TOWER, _sb._ fortress. Psalms XVIII, 2; XXXI, 2; LXII, 7.
See _hain_.
HALING (hēling), _pr. p._ pouring down. Douglas, II, 47, 31. O.N.
_hella_, to pour out water, _helling_, sb. pouring. See Wall
under _hell_. We should expect a short vowel as generally in
Eng. diall. The form _hale_, however, occurs in Yorkshire too.
Both are from O.N. _hella_. There is no Scand. or L.G. word
with original _a_ to explain _hale_, but cp. the two words
_dwell_ and _wail_, to choose. _Dwell_ from O.N. _dvelja_,
preserves both quality and quantity of the original vowel. The
Sco. form is, however, _dwall_. Here the vowel has been opened
according to Sco. tendency of changing _e_ to _a_ before
liquids, cp. _félag_ > _falow_, also frequently before other
consonants. Cp. the same tendency in certain dialects in
America, so _tăll_ or even _tǣl_ for _tell, băll_ for
_bell_, _wăll_ for _well_, etc. If _e_ before _l_ in
_hell_, to pour, was changed to _a_, as _e_ in _dwell_, and
later lengthened, we would have the form _hǣl_ out of which
_hale_ would be regularly developed, and so a double
development from the same word, _hell_ and _hale_. _Wail_, to
choose, might be explained in the same way from O.N. vb.
_velja_. _Well_ would be the regular form, but this is not
found. The O.N. _val_, choice, is, however, sufficient to
explain _wail_.
HAME-SUCKEN, _sb._ the crime of assaulting a person within his own
house. O.N. _hæim-sókn_, O. Dan. _hem-sokn_, an attack on
one's house. O. Sw. _hem-sokn_, O.E. _hamsocn_, E. _ham-
socne_. See Steenstrup, pp. 348-349. The word seems to have
come into Eng. during the time of the Danes in England, though
both elements are Eng. as well as Scand. See Kluge, P.G.(2)I, 933.
HAMMALD, _adj._ domestic. Douglas, II, 26, 7. O.N. _heimoll_,
_heimill_, domestic, O. Sw. _hemoll_, Norse _heimholt_.
Excrescent _d_ after _l_ quite common in Scand. and appears
in Sco. in a few words. See _fald_.
HANK, _sb._ thread as it comes from the measuring reel, a coil of
thread. Burns, 584. See Skeat. Cu. _hankle_, to entangle, is
probably the same word.
HANSEL, _sb._ gift. O.N. _handsal_. Bruce, V, 120, _hansell_ used
ironically means "defeat." See Skeat.
HARN, _sb._ brain. O.N. _hjarni_, brain, O. Dan. _hiærnę_, Norse
_hjarne_, Dan. _hjerne_, O. Sw. _hiärne, härne_.
HARSK, _adj._ harsh, cruel. Wyntoun, IX, 1, 27; Douglas, II, 208,
17. O.N. *_harsk_, bitter, as proved by Shetland, _ask_,
_hask_, _hosk_, and Norse _hersk_. Cp. Dan. _harsk_. O. Ic.
_herstr_, bitter, hard, severe, is probably the same word,
_st_ to _sk_. Cp. Cu. _hask weather_, dry weather. Shetland,
_hoski wadder_, dry and windy weather (Jakobson, p. 68). Dan.
dial. _harsk_, bitter, dry. For dropping of _r_, as in the
Shetland form, cp. _kask_, from _karsk_, in "Havelok," cited
in Skeat's list.
HARSKNESS, _sb._ harshness. Dunbar, 104, 19. See _harsk_.
HARTH, _adj._ hard. Dunbar, F., 181; O.N. _harðr_, Norse _har(d)_,
Dan. _haar(d)_, hard.
HAUGH, _sb._ a hill, a knoll. O.N. _haugr_, a hill, Norse _haug_,
Old Gutnic _haugr_, Cu. _howe_. The O. Sw. _högher_, O. Dan.
_hög_, _höw_, Dan. _höi_, Shetland _hjog_, _hög_, show later
monophthongation. Cp. M.E. _houȝ_, _hogh_.
HAVER-MEAL, _sb._ oat-meal. Burns, 187, 32, 1. Cp. Norse,
_havremjöl_, O.N. _hafrmjöl_, Dan. _havre meel_. The first
element of the compound is used especially in Scand.
settlements in England and is probably due to Scand.
influence. An O.S. _hafore_ exists, but if our word is native,
it ought to be distributed in South Eng. diall. as well. The
second element of the compound may be Eng.
HAYND, _sb._ Douglas, III, 119, 6. See _aynd_.
HEID, _sb._ brightness. Rolland, I, 122. O.N. _hæið_, brightness of
the sky, _hæið ok sólskin_, brightness and sunshine, _hæiða_,
to brighten, _hæiðbjartr_, serene. Cp. _heiðs-há-rann_, the
high hall of brightness, an O. poetical name for heaven. The
Norse adj. _heid_, bright, like the Sco. word, shows change of
_ð_ to _d_.
HENDIR, _adj._ past, bygone. Bruce, 10, 551. Dunbar's poem, _This
hendir Night_. O.N. _endr_, formerly. Cp. _ender-day_ in
Skeat's list.
HETHING, _sb._ scorn, mockery. Wyntoun, IX, 10, 92; Wallace, V, 739;
Douglas, II, 209, 7. O.N. _hǽðing_, sb. scoffing, scorn,
_hǽða_, to scoff, to mock, Norse, _hæding_, scorn, mockery,
O. Sw. _hädha_, _hödha_.
HING, _vb._ to hang. Lindsay, 527, 4033; Gol. and Gaw., 438; Psalms
LXIX, 6. Same as Cu. _hing_, for which see Wall.
HOOLI, HULIE, _adj._ quiet, slow, leisurely, careful. Dalr., I, 149,
27; A.P.B., 41; Fergusson, 54. O.N., _hógligr_, easy, gentle,
_hógleiki_, meekness, _hóglifi_, a quiet life, _hóglyndr_,
good-natured.
HUGSUM, _adj._ horrible. Wyntoun, VII, 5, 176. See _ug_, to fear.
HUSBAND, _sb._ a small farmer. Bruce, X, 387; VII, 151. O.N. _hús-
bondi_, a house-master. See Skeat. For full discussion of this
word as well as _bonde_, see Steenstrup, 97-100.
ILL, _adj._ evil, wicked. Bruce, III, 10. O.N. _illr_, adj. bad,
Norse _ill_, _idl_, cross, angry, Dan. _ilde_, adv. badly. As
an adv. common in M.E. The adj. use of it more specifically
Sco. as in Norse. See Skeat.
IRKE, _vb._ to weary, to suffer. Dunbar, F., 429; R.R., 456; L.L.,
2709. O.N. _yrkja_, to work, take effect, O. Sw. _yrkja_,
O. Dan. _yrki_ (Schlyter), Sw. _yrke_, to urge, enforce, Norse
_orka_, be able, always used in the sense of "barely being
able to," or, with the negative, "not being able to." Ramsay
uses the word in the sense of "being vexed."
IRKE, _adj._ weary, lazy. Dunbar, 270, 36; R.R., 3570. See _irke_,
vb. _Irkit_, pp. adj. tired, Montg., M.P., 521.
IRKING, _sb._ delay. Winyet, II, 76; I. Deriv. from _irke_, vb.
ITHANDLY, YTHANDLY, YDANLIE, _adv._ busily, assiduously. Dalr., II,
36, 12; R.R., 36, 95. O.N. _iðinn_, busy. See _eident_.
KARPING, CARPING, _sb._ speech, address. Wyntoun, VIII, 18, 85;
VIII, 18, 189; IX, 9, 34. See _carp_.
KEIK, KEK, _vb._ to peep, to pry. O.N. _kíkja_, to pry, Norse
_kika_. Undoubtedly a Scand. loan-word, _i>ei_ as in _gleit_,
_gley_.
KENDLE, KENDILL, KENNLE, _vb._ to kindle. Lyndsay, 161, 4970; Gol.
and Gaw., 1221; Rolland, I, 609. O.N. _kendill, kynda_, M.E.
_kindlen_. See Brate.
KILT, _vb._ to tuck up, O.N. _kelta_, _kjalta_, O. Dan. _kiltæ_, the
lap, Dan., Norse _kilte_, to tuck up, O. Sw. _kilta_, sb. For
discussion of this word see Skeat.
KIST, KYST, _sb._ chest, box. O.N. _kista_, Norse, Dan. _kiste_,
a chest. O.E. _cest_ would have given _kest_, or _chest_. See
also Curtis, §392. The tendency in Sco. is to change _i_ to
_e_ before _st_, not _e_ to _i_. Cp. _restit_, _gestning_.
KITTLING, KITTLEN, _sb._ kitten. Burns, 38, 2, 3; Mansie Wauch, 23,
19; 210, 10. O.N. _ketlingr_, diminutive of _ketta_, she-cat,
Norse _kjetling_. Cp. Cu. _kitlin_. The same diminutive
formation appears in Dan. _kylling_, older _kykling_, Norse
_kjukling_, a chicken.
KNUSE, KNOOSE, _vb._ to bruise, to press down with the knees, to
beat, also to knead. Ramsay, I, 236. See Jamieson for
secondary meanings. O.N. _knusa_, to bruise, to beat, Norse
_knusa_, Dan. _knuse_, crush, O. Sw. _knosa_, _knusa_, crush,
press tight, beat. Cp. Goth. _knusian_. O.E. _cnysian_, shows
umlaut.
KOW, _sb._ a fright, terror. Winyet, I, 107, 12. O.N. _kúga_, to
cow. See _cow_, vb.
LACK, _vb._ to belittle, blame, reproach, despise. Mont., M.P., 43,
17; R.R., 3242; 3517; Gau., 17, 25. O.N. _hlakka_, to look
down upon, O. Dan. _lakke_, to slander, O. Sw. _belacka_, id.
See _lak_, sb.
LAICHING, _sb._ sport, play. R.R., 647. From Sco. vb. _laike_, to
play, O.N. _læika_. See _lak_.
LAIF, LAVE, _sb._ the rest. O.N. _læif_, a leaving, pl. _læifar_,
remnants, Norse _leiv_, id., _løyva_, to leave. Cannot come
from O.E. _lāf_. See §20.
LAIGH, _adj._ low. Ramsay, II, 20; Mansie Wauch, 106, 23. Same as
Eng. _low_, from O.N. _lágr_, O. Sw. _lagher_, O. Dan. _lagh,
lag_, low. In Eng., O.N. _ag_ > _ǫw_ > _ow_. In Scotland
_ag_ > _aw_, did not become _ow_ later. So the regular Sco.
form is _law_, or, with guttural, _lawch_. In _laigh_,
however, _a_ has developed as _a_ would when not before _g_ or
_h_. The form _logh_ also occurs. In Dunbar occur _low_,
_law_, _laich_, and _loigh_.
LAIGH, _vb._ to bend down, to kneel. Psalms XCV, 6. See _laigh_,
adj.
LAIKE, _sb._ the stake for which one plays. Montg., C., I, 109. O.N.
_læikr_, a play, Norse _leik_, O. Dan. _legh_. Also means play
in Sco., but the transferred meaning is common. It cannot come
from O.E. _lāc_. The _e_-vowel in Cu., Westm., and S.
Scotland proves an original _æi_-diphthong. See Part I, §16.
LAIRET, _adj._ bemired. Psalms LXIX, 2. Norse _læir_, clay. Dan.
dial. _ler_, O. Sw. _leer_, _ler_, id., Eng. dial. _lair_. See
Wall. Jamieson gives _lair_, vb. to stick in the mire, _lair_,
sb. a bog, _lairy_, adj. boggy.
LAIRING, _sb._ gutter, deep mud. Burns, 10, 11. O.N. _læir_, clay.
Same as Yorkshire _lyring_, for which see Wall. _Lyring_ seems
to show original E. Scan. monophthongation of _æi_ to _e_.
LAIT, _sb._ manner, trick. R.R., 273, 25, 36. O.N., Ic. _lát_,
manners, _skipta lítum ok látum_, change shape and manners.
O. Sw. _lat_, manner, way of proceeding. Cp. O.N. _láta-læti_,
dissimulation, _látbragð_, gestures, and Dan. _lade_, to
dissimulate, pretend. Norse _lata_, id. Probably related to
O.N. _lát_.
LAYKING, _sb._ jousting, a tournament. Wyntoun, VIII, 35. See
_laik_.
LAK, _sb._ a plaything. Wallace, VIII, 1410. Norse _leik_, a game,
_leiker_ (pl.), games, toys. Sw. dial. _leika_, a doll, a play
sister. Cp. Cu. _lakin_, a child's toy.
LAK, _sb._ contempt, reproach, disgrace. Rolland, I, 455; Rosw. and
Lill., 784; R.R., 3092. O.N. _lakr_, defective, O. Dan. _lak_,
fault, deficiency. Sw. _lack_, fault, slander. O. Sw.
_lakkare_, a slanderer. Cp. Dan. _lakkeskrift_, a satirical
piece. See _lack_, vb.
LEISTER, _sb._ a three-pronged salmon spear. Burns, 16, 1. Dumfries
and Ayr., any spear for striking or spearing fish with. O.N.
_ljóstr_, a salmon spear. Norse _ljoster, ljøster_, Dan.
_lyster_, Sw. _ljuster_, vb. _Ljostra_, vb. in Norse, to spear
fish. Cu. _lister_, _leester_. See also Worsaae, p. 260. Vb.
_leister_ in Sco., to strike fish with a spear or leister.
LINK, _vb._ to walk briskly, smartly. Burns, 1291, 6, 5, 2. Norse
_linke_, to hurry along, cp. Sw., Dan. _linke_, to limp along.
Stevenson in _Ille Terrarum_ 6, 3, uses _link_ in the sense of
"walking along leisurely," which is nearer the Dan. meaning of
the word.
LIRK, _vb._ to crease, to rumple, shrivel. Ramsay, I, 307. O.N.
_lerka_, to lace tight, _lirk_, sb. a crease, a fold.
LIPIN, LIPPEN, _vb._ to trust. R.R., 3501; Psalms, XVIII, 30, etc.
O.N. _litna_ (?), very doubtful. See B-S.
LITE, _vb._ to dye, to stain. Dalr., I, 48, 24; Douglas, IV, 190,
32. O.N. _lita_, to dye, Shetland, to _litt_. See Wall.
LITLING, _sb._ dyeing. Sat. P., 48, 1. See _lit_.
LOFT, _sb._ upper room, gallery. O.N. _lopt_, Norse _loft_, Aberdeen
_laft_. See Skeat.
LOFT, _vb._ to equip with a loft. C.S., 96. See _loft_, sb.
LOKMEN, _sb. pl._ executioners. Wallace, 134. O. Dan., O. Sw.
_lagman_. O.N. _lögmaðr_, literally "the law-man," was the
speaker of the law. In Iceland, particularly, the _lögmaðr_
was the law-speaker. In Norway a _lögman_ seems also to have
meant a country sheriff or officer, which comes closer to the
use in Wallace. A little doubtful.
LOPPRIT, _pp._ clotted. Douglas, II, 157, 28; III, 306, 4. O.N.
_hlaupa_ (of milk), to curdle (of blood), to coagulate. So
Norse _lopen_, _løpen_ (from _læupa_, _løypa_), thick,
coagulated. Dan. _at löbe sammen_, to curdle, _löbe_, make
curdle, _löbe_, sb. curdled milk. O.N. _hlöypa mjolk_, id.,
literally "to make milk leap together." O. Sw. _löpa_. In Cu.
milk is said to be _loppert_ when curdled.
LOUN, LOWN, _adj._ quiet, calm, sheltered. O.N. _logn_, O. Sw.
_lughn_. See Wall under _lownd_.
LOUP, LOWP, _vb._ to leap, to jump. O.N. _hlaupa_, to leap, Norse
_læupa_, run, O. Sw. _löpa_, Dan. _löbe_. Cp. Cu. _lowpy-
dike_, a husband of unfaithful habits, and the secondary
meanings of Norse _laupa_ given in Aasen.
LOUP, LOWP, _sb._ a jump, a spring. Bruce, VI, 638; X, 414; Sco.
Pro. 3. See the verb.
LOUSE, LOWSE, _adj._ loose, free, unfettered. Wyntoun, IX, 2, 63;
Douglas, I, 95, 9; I, 95, 23. O.N. _lauss_, Norse _læus_,
loose. See Wall. Sco. _to be louse_, to be abroad, about. The
Norse word is similarly used. Cp. Germ. _los_, and Dan. _lös_.
Waddell has the word _godlowse_, godless.
LOUSE, LOWSE, _vb._ to make loose, release. C.S., 121; Lyndsay, 460,
232; K.Q., 34. O.N. _lauss_. The O.N. vb. was _løysa_. See
_louse_, adj.
LOW, _vb._ to humble. R.R., 148. Same as Eng. to _lower_. So in Sco.
to _hey_, to heighten.
LOW, _vb._ to flame, to flare up, kindle. Dunbar, G.T., 45; Ramsay,
II, 17; Psalms, LXXVI. O.N. _lǫga_, to burn with a flame,
Norse _lǫga_, _laaga_, to blaze, but cp. the Sco. sb.
_lowe_.
LOWE, _sb._ flame. O.N. _lǫgi_, Norse _laage_. See Skeat.
LOWNE, _vb._ to shelter. Bruce, XV, 276; M.E. _lounen_, to shelter.
See _lowne_, adj. Douglas, II, 236, 31, _lownit_, pp. serene,
tranquil.
LUCK, _vb._ to succeed. Montg., C., 643. O.N. _lukka_, reflexive, to
succeed (bene succedere, Haldorson), _lukka_, sb. luck. O. Sw.
_lukka_, _löcka_ and _lykka_. In Scand. dial. the latter
umlauted form only is found for the vb., but Norse sb.
_lukka_, Dan. sb. _lykke_. Undoubtedly Norse influence in Sco.
LUCKEN, _vb._ to give luck, cause to succeed. Sco. formation from
_luck_. Cp. _slok_ and _sloken_.
LUFE, LOOF, _sb._ the palm of the hand. O.N _lófi_, the hollow of
the hand, the palm, Norse _love_, id., Sw. dial. _love_.
LUG, _sb._ the ear. See Skeat and Wall. Cp. Norse _lugga_, to pull,
and _lug_ as a sb. originally "that which is pulled." In Cu.
_lug_ means "the handle of a pail." Compare the Eng. to _lug_,
to carry.
LYTHE, _vb._ to listen. Dunbar, 192, I. O.N. _hlyða_, to listen,
Dan. _lytte_, O. Sw. _lyÞa_, id.
MAIK, _sb._ companion, partner, consort. Dunbar, T.M.W., 32;
Philotus, 2. O.N. _maki_, partner, an equal, Norse _make_,
Dan. _mage_, O. Sw. _maki_, M.E. _make_, consort, partner.
MAIKLESS, _adj._ without peer. Wyntoun, IX, Prol. 48; Montg. "The
Lady Margaret Montgomery," 8. O.N. _maki_ + _laus_, Norse
_makalæus_, Dan. _magelös_, extraordinary.
MAUCH, _adj._ full of maggots. Dunbar, F., 241. O.N. _maðkr_,
a maggot, W.Norse, with assimilation, _makk_, E. Norse _mark_,
Dan. _madik_, Sw. dial. _mark_, O. Sw. _matk_, and _madhker_.
The _k_ is a diminutive ending, cp. Eng. _moth_ < O.E. _maða_.
In the Sco. word _ð_ fell out and _a_ was lengthened for
compensation. Cp. Cu. _mawk_, a midge, Eng. dial. _mawkish_.
Skeat cites Eng. dial. form _mad_.
MELDER, _sb._ flour, meal just ground. Burns, 127, 113. O.N.
_meldr_, flour, or corn in the mill, Norse _melder_, wheat
about to be ground, or flour that has just been ground,
_melderlas_, a load of wheat intended for the mill,
_meldersekk_, a bag of flour. Cp. Cu. _melder_, the quantity
of meal ground at one time.
MENSE, _vb._ to do grace to. Lyndsay, 529. See _mensk_, sb. The
change of _sk_ to _s_ is characteristic of Sco. See _mensk_.
MENSEDOM, _sb._ wisdom. Psalms, CV, 22. See _mensk_.
MENSK, MENSE, _sb._ proper conduct, more generally honor. Dunbar,
T.M.W., 352; Wyntoun, VIII, 42, 143; Burns, 90, 1. O.N.
_mennska_. For discussion of this word see Wall. Deriv.
_menskless_, _menskful_, _menskly_.
MIDDING, MYDDING, _sb._ a midden. C.S., 12; Lyndsay, 216, 269. Dan.
_mödding_, older _möghdyngh_, O.N. _mykidyngja_, Sw. dial.
_mödding_, Cu. _middin_.
MON, MAN, MAUN, _vb._ must, O.N. _monu_ (_munu_), will, shall, Norse
_mun_, will, but used variously. Dan. _monne_, _mon_, as an
auxiliary vb. used very much like _do_ in Eng. Sw. _mån_, Cu.
_mun_. The form of the Sco. word is the same in all persons.
So in Norse.
MYTH, _vb._ to mark, recognize. Wallace, V, 664; Douglas, I, 28, 26.
O.N. _miða_, to show, to mark a place, Norse _mida_, mark a
place, _mid_ sb. a mark by which to find a place. O.E.
_miðan_, meant "to conceal, lie concealed," same as O.H.G.
_midan_, vitare, occultare, Germ. _meiden_, _vermeiden_,
avoid.
NEIRIS, _sb. pl._ the kidneys. C.S., 67. O.N. _nyra_, a kidney,
Norse _nyra_, O. Dan. _nyre_, Sw. _niura_, Sw. dial. _nyra_,
M.E. _nere_. Cp. Sco. _eir_, _an eir_, for _a neir_, as in
Eng. _augur_, _an augur_, _a naugur_.
NEVIN, _vb._ to name. Gol. and Gaw., 506; Howlate, II, 3, 7. O.N.
_nefna_, Norse _nevna_, Dan. _nævne_, to name, O.E. _namnian_.
NIEVE, NEEFE, NEVE, _sb._ the hand, the fist. O.N. _hnefi_, Norse
_neve_, hand, fist, Shetland _nev_, Cu. _neif_, _neive_,
_neef_. Wall considers this an unrecorded Eng. word, which is
possible. Its general distribution in Scand. dial. and
elsewhere in Scand. settlements, as Northern and Central
England, Southern Scotland, Shetland, etc., as well as its
absence in all other Gmc. languages, indicates, however, that
the word is Scand. in Eng. diall.
NOUT, NOWT, _sb._ cattle. O.N. _naut_, cattle, Norse _næut_ id. Dan.
_nöd_, Sw. _noet_, Shetland _nød_. In M. Sco., also written
_nolt_.
NYK, NEK, _vb._ to shake the head in denial of anything, "to nyk
with nay." Gol. and Gaw, 115; Philotus, 32. Norse _nikka_, to
bow slightly, _nikk_, a slight bow, Sw. _neka_, to deny, say
no, M.E. _nicken_.
NYTE, _vb._ to deny. Gol. and Gaw., 889; Wyntoun, VIII, 2, 16. O.N.
_næita_, to deny, refuse, Norse _neitta_, _neikta_, _nekta_,
id., _neiting_, a denial, _neitan_, id., Dan. _nægte_.
ONDING, _sb._ terror. Psalms, LXXXVIII, 15. See _ding_.
ONFARRAND, _adj._ ill-looking. Douglas, III, 250, 26. See _farrand_.
ON LOFT, _adv._ up. Gol. and Gaw., 485; Bruce, XIII, 652. O.N.
_á loft_, up into the air. See Skeat _aloft_. Sco. Pro. 27,
_upon loft_, up.
ON LOFT, _adv._ aloud. Dunbar, T.M.W., 338. See above.
OUTWALE, _sb._ the best, the choice. Lyndsay, XX, 4. Eng. _out_ +
O.N. _val_; similar formation to Norse _udvalg_, _utval_.
PIRRYE, _sb._ whirlwind. Sat. P., I, 178. See _bir_.
POCKNET, _sb._ from O.N. _poki_, pouch and _net_, a net.
A Dumfriesshire word. Not found in any Sco. text but given by
Worsaae, p. 260, and in Jamieson, where the following
description is given of pocknet fishing.
This is performed by fixing stakes or stours, as they are
called, in the sand either in the channel of a river, or
in the sand which is dry at low water. These stours are
fixed in a line across the tideway at a distance of 46
inches from each other, about three feet high above the
sand, and between every two of these stours is fixed a
pocknet, tied by a rope to the top of each stour."
P. Dorneck, Dumr. Statist. Acc., II, 1.
QUEY, QUOY, _sb._ a young cow, a yearling. Douglas, II, 178, 19; II,
299, 8; Burns, 595. O.N. Norse _kviga_, Dan. dial. _kvie_. Cp.
Shetland _hwäi_ and _kwäi_. Cu. _why_, _wheye_ (guttural
_wh_).
QUHELM, WHELM, _vb._ to overturn, to turn upside down. Douglas, II,
64, 14; II, 264, 16. Burns, 66, 1, also written _quhelme_,
_whamle_, _whemle_. In Cu. _whemmel_, M.E. _hwēlmen_. See
Skeat under _whelm_. Cp. Norse _kvelm_ and _hvelm._ The O.N.
_hvelfa_, N. Norse _kvelva_, means "to turn upside down."
QUYOK, QUYACH, diminutive of _quey_, q. v.
RA (rē), _sb._ a sail-yard. Douglas, II, 274, 16. O.N., Ic. _rá_,
Dan. _raa_, Norse _raa_, Sw. _ra_, Shetland _roe_, a sail-
yard.
RAD, RED, _adj._ afraid. Bruce, XII, 431; Dunbar, T. M.W., 320;
Montg. C. and S., 1392. O.N. _hræddr_, timid, frightened,
Norse _rædd_, Dan. _ræd_, Sw. _rädd_, id., M.E. _rad_. Cp.
O.N. _hræða_, to frighten, Norse _rædda._
RADNESS, _sb._ timidity, fear. R. R., 1166; 1660. Deriv. from _rad_,
q.v.
RADEUR, _sb._ fear. L.L., 1489. Sco. formation from _rad_ adj.,
afraid. M.E. _reddour_, _redour_ is a different word from
O. Fr. _reidur_, later _roideur_, see B-S.
RAGGED, _adj._ full of _rag_, ragwort. Burns, 103, 85. See
_ragweed._
RAGWEED, _sb._ an herb, ragwort. Burns, 6, 5, 9. O.N. _rögg_, M.E.
_ragge_ for which see B-S. Cp. Sw. dial. _ragg_, _rogga._
RAISE, RAIZE, _vb._ to incite, stir up. Burns, 6, 5, 4; and 7, 1, 1.
Used here as Sco. _bait_ would be used, otherwise generally as
Eng. _raise_, from O.N. _ræisa_.
RAKE, RAIK (rēk), _vb._ to go, walk, wander, also depart. Dunbar,
T. M.W., 524; Gol. and Gaw., 72; Psalms, XVIII, 10. O.N.
_ræika_, to wander, Norse _ræka_, to wander about aimlessly.
Cp. Cu. _rake_, a journey, "He's teann a rake ower to Kendal."
See also Wall.
RAMFEEZLED, _adj._ exhausted, fatigued. Burns, 42, 1, 3. One of a
number of words in Sco. formed with _ram_, cp. _ramshackle_,
_ramstam_, _rammous_, etc. The second element probably the
same as Eng. _fizzle_ in the expression _to fizzle out_, fail,
come to nought. See _fizz_ in Skeat. See _rammys_.
RAMMEIST, _vb.pret._ ran wild, frenzied. Montg., F., 511. Cp.
_rammous_ adj. Probably the same used as a vb. Cp. Norse
_ramsa_, to slash together, do a thing hurriedly, also to
make a noise.
RAMMYS, RAMMOUS, _adj._ excited, violent. R.R., 113. O.N. _ramr_,
_rammr_, strong, vehement, Norse _ram_, powerful, risky,
hazardous. Cl. and V. cites the N. Eng. form _ram_, bitter,
which is the same word.
RAMSTAM, _adj._ indiscreet, with an idea of rushing into anything
thoughtlessly. Burns, 32, 22. O.N. _rammr_, vehement, and
_stam_, stiff, hard, unbending. Cp. Cu. _ram_, strong, and
_rammish_, violent, and American slang _rambunktious_,
obstreperous.
RANEGILL, _sb._ a scapegrace, a worthless fellow. Johnnie Gibb, 179,
11. Cp. Norse _rangel_, _ranglefant_, a loafer, rascal.
Doubtful.
RANGALE, _sb._ rabble, mob. Wyntoun, VIII, 36, 35; Bruce, XII, 474.
O.N. _hrang_, noise, tumult, especially the noise a crowd
makes.
RED, _vb._ to clear away, clear up, set to rights. R.R., 1242;
Isaiah, LX, 10. O.N. _hryðja_, to clear away, Norse _rydja_,
_rydda_, Sw. _rödja_, Dan. _rydde_. Cp. Eng. _rid_, O. Fr.
_hredda, _ O.E. _hreddan_, Norse _redda_, save, liberate.
Germ. _retten_ is another word.
RED UP, _vb._ open up. Isaiah, XL, 3; LXII, 10. O.N. _hryðja upp,
_ Norse _rydde op_, clear up. In Ramsay, II, 225, _red up_
pp. means dressed. See also Wall under _red_.
REDDING, _sb._ growing afraid. Lyndsay, 356, 1263. See _rad_, _red_.
REESE, _vb._ to extol. Ramsay, I, 262. Eng. _raise_. See also
_raise_ above, as used in Burns.
RESTIT (very frequently reestit), _adj._ dry, withered. Burns, 6, 5.
Dan. _riste_, to dry something over a _rist_, _ristet_, dried.
O.N. _rist_, a gridiron. Cp. Cu. _reestit_, rancid, rusty.
RIVE, RYFE, RIF (rīv), _vb._ to tear, break open, cleave.
Lyndsay, 434, 156; Wynyet, II, 6514; Psalms, XXIX, 5. O.N.
_rifa_, to tear, Norse _riva_, _reiva_, Dan. _rive_, Sw.
_rifwa_, M.E. _raven_ id. Cp. Dunbar, T.M.W., 350, "rif into
sondir," tear to pieces, and Norse "rive sonde." Cu. _reavv_,
and _ryve_.
ROCK, _sb._ a loom, spinning wheel, spinning distaff. Lyndsay, 109,
3330; Burns, 223, 112, 3; 240, 148, 1. O.N. _rokkr_, a loom,
Norse _rokk_, Dan. _rok_, spinning wheel.
ROCKING, _sb._ "a chat, a friendly visit at which they would spin on
the rock which the visitor carried along with her" (Wagner).
Burns, 4, 28. See _rock_.
ROVE, RUFE, _sb._ rest, repose. Montg., M.P., VI, 20; Scott, 62, 19.
O.N. _ró_, Norse, Dan. _ro_, quiet, rest, Orm. _ro_ (see
Brate). Final epenthetic _v_ also occurs in other words in
Sco. Cp. _qhwov_ for _qwho, cruive_, besides _crue_, etc.
ROWSTE, _vb._ "to cry with a rough voice." Douglas, III, 304, 11.
O.N. _raust_, the voice. Dan. _röst_, Sw. _röst_, Norse
_ryest_. Cp. O.N. _rausa_, to talk loud or fast. Shetland
_ruz_ (Cl. and V.). The Sco. vb. seems to be formed from a sb.
_rowste_, which occurs in Orm.
ROWT, ROUT, _vb._ to cry out, roar. Lyndsay, 538, 4353; Montg., F.,
501; Rolland, IV, 406. O.N. _rauta_, O. Ic. _rǫuta_, to
roar, to bellow, Norse _rauta_, _ræuta_, Sw. dial. _röta_, id.
The Sw. word exhibits the E. Scand. monophthongation, which
took place in Dan. about 900.
ROWT, _sb._ loud clamor. Poet. R., 157; Ramsay, I, 251. See vb.
_rowt_.
RUCKLE, RICLE, _sb._ a little heap of anything. Lyndsay, 539, 4356;
Burns, 596; M.W., 114, 3. See Wall under _rook_. _Ruckle_ is
the form of the word in Edinburgh dial. May be Eng. Skeat
considers Eng. _ruck_ Scand. and _rick_ Eng., but in Scotland
the one may be simply a variant of the other, not necessarily
a doublet. Cp. _fill_ and _full_.
RUIK, a heap. Lyndsay, 454, 2079; 494, 3075. Spelled _ruck_, meaning
"a cock of hay," in Ramsay's "The Gentle Shepherd," 160. See
Wall, under _rook_. Cp. Cu. _ruck_, the chief part, the
majority.
ROOP AND STOOP. Ramsay, II, 527; M.W. 203, 8; 214, 5. Cp. _rubb og
stubb_, every particle. Aasen defines "löst og fast, smaat og
stort, selja rubb og stubb," sell everything, dispose of all
one has; literally "stump and piece," "rump and stump." Used
exactly the same way in Sco. Of very frequent occurrence in
this sense in Norway.
RUND, ROOND, ROON, _sb._ the border of a web, the edge. Burns, 596.
O.N. _rond_, rim, border, Dan. _rand_, a line, seam, the
border, Norse _rand_, _rond_, a streak, seam, edge, border.
Cp. Cu. _randit_, streaked, Norse _randet_, id.
RUNSIK, _vb._ to ransack. Wallace, VII, 120. O.N. _rannsaka_, to
search a house, Norse _ransaka_, from _ran_, house, and
_saka_, _söka_, seek. See Skeat, and Kluge and Lutz.
RUSARE, _sb_, a flatterer. R.R., 3356. See _ruse_.
RUSE, ROOSE, RUSS (rūs), _vb._ to praise, to boast, pride
oneself. Douglas, II, 57, 8; Rolland, I, 389; R.R., 2823. O.N.
_rósa_, older _hrósa_, to praise, Norse _rosa_, Dan. _rose_,
Sw. _rosa_, M.E. (_h_)_rosen_, Lincolnshire _rose_, _reouse_,
Cu. _roose_.
RUSE, _sb._ praise, a boast. Dunbar, T. M.W., 431; Sat. P., 12, 17.
O.N. _hrós_, praise, Norse, Dan. _ros_.
SAIKLESS, _adj._ innocent. Lyndsay, 545, 4563. O.N. _saklauss_, O.E.
_saclēas_. The O.E. word is a loan-word from O. Nh. See
Steenstrup, 210-211. In modern Eng. dial. the form is
generally _sackless_.
SAIKLESSNESS, _sb._ innocence, innocency. Psalms, XXVI, 6, 11;
LXXIII, 13. See _saikless_.
SAIT, _sb._ session, court. Dunbar, 79, 41. O.N. _sǽti_, seat,
sitting, Norse _sæte_, id. See Skeat under _seat_.
SAUCHT, _adj._ reconciled, also at ease, undisturbed, tranquil.
Bruce, N, 300; Douglas, II, 91, 22. O.E. _saht_, borrowed from
O.N. See Kluge, P.G.(2)I, 934. For discussion of O.E.
_seht_ and _sehtian_ see Steenstrup, 181-182. In Howlate, III,
16, _sacht_ vb. pret., made peace.
SAY, _sb._ a milk-pail, also tub. Jamieson, Dumfries. O.N. _sár_,
a large cask, Norse _saa_, a pail, a water-bucket, a wooden
tub, Dan. _saa_, _vandsaa_, waterpail, Sw. _så_, id.
SCAIT, _sb._ the skate fish. Dunbar, 261, 9. O.N. _skata_, Norse
_skata_, the skate, M.E. _scate_. Ir. _scat_, _sgat_, id., is
a loan-word from O.N. (Cp. Craigie, p. 163). O.N. _sk_ becomes
quite regularly _sg_ in Ir. and Gael. Cp. also _sgeir_ <
_skar_. Cu. _skeatt_ exhibits regular i-fracture from older
_a_.
SCAITH, SCATH, _vb._ to injure. Bruce, IV, 363; XII, 392; R. R.,
1323. Not from O. Nhb. _sceðða_, but from O.N. _skaða_, Norse
_skade_, with which the vowel corresponds.
SCAR, _sb._ a precipitous bank of earth, a bare place on the side of
a steep hill, a cliff. Ramsay, II, 205; Burns, 10, 11. Also
written _skard_, _scair_, _scaur_. O.N. _sker_, a skerry, an
isolated rock in the sea. Norse _skjær_, a projecting cliff,
a bank of rocky ground, Dan. _skjær_, _skær_, a rock in the
water near the land, Sw. _skär_, M.E. _sker_, _scerre_. Cp.
Cu. _skerr_, a precipice. The fundamental idea is "something
cut apart, standing by itself." Root the same as in the Norse
_skera_, to cut, Eng. _shear_ and _shore_, sea-_shore._ Cp.
the O.E. vb. _scorian_ cited by Sweet.
SCARTH, _sb._ the cormorant. Dunbar, T.M.W., 92; F., 194; Douglas,
I, 46, 15. O.N. _skarfr_, Norse _skarv_, cormorant. Shetland,
_scarf_.
SCHOIR, _sb._ a threat, menace. Bruce, VI, 621; Gol. and Gaw., 103.
B-S. derive from O. Sw. _skorra_, O.N. _skera_.
SCOL, _vb._ to wish one health, an expression used in drinking, just
as the Norse _skaal_ is used. Montg. S., 69, 13. O.N. _skal_,
Norse _skaal_, a drinking cup. Cp. Sco. _skull_, a goblet.
Ir.-Gael. _scala_, _sgaile_, a beaker, is a Norse loan-word
(Craigie).
SCOUG, scog, _vb._ to shelter. M.W., 20, 19; Isaiah, XVIII, 6. O.N.
_skuggi_, shade, Norse _skugge_, to shade, Sw. _skugga_, sb.,
Dan. _skygge_, to shade. Spelled _scug_ also in Sco.
SCRATCH, _sb._ an hermaphrodite. Jamieson. O.N. _skratti_, a
monster. This form exists in Yorkshire, otherwise the form in
Eng. dial. is _scrat_. See Wall.
SCRIP, a coarse or obscene gesture. Wallace, VI, 143. Probably from
O.N. _skripi_. Cp. _skripatal_, scurrilous language,
_skripalæti_, buffoonery, scurrilous gestures. With the Sco.
word cp. the Norse _skripa_, vb., _skripa_, sb. f., and Ic.
_skrípr_, sb. m. See Aasen.
SCUD, _vb._ to hurry away, hasten on. Burns, 55, 1, 4. Eng. _scud_
Skeat derives from Dan. _skyde_, Sw. _skutta_. The Sw. form is
nearest, the Dan. form shows umlaut. The corresponding O.E.
word is _scēotan_.
SCUDLER, a male kitchen servant. Wallace, 5, 10, 27. Cp. O.N.
_skutilsvæinn_, a page at a royal table. _Skutil_ is the same
as O.E. _scutel_, a dish, a trencher. In O.N. it means also
"a small table." The unpalatalized _sc_, as well as the usage,
would indicate that the word is a loan-word.
SEIR, SER, _adj._ various, separate. Rolland, Prol., 295; R.R., 990;
"Freires of Berwick," 321. O.N. _sér_, for oneself,
separately. Originally the dative of the refl. pron., but used
very frequently as an adverb.
SEMELEY, _adv._ proper, looking properly. Wallace, I, 191; Wyntoun,
IX, 26, 53. _Seimly_, _semely-farrand_, good-looking,
handsome, also means "in proper condition." Redundant, since
_semely_ and _farrand_ in Sco. mean the same. O.N. _sæmiligr_.
See Skeat.
SHACKLET, _adj._ crooked, distorted. Burns, 322, I, 7. O.N.
_skakkr_, skew, wry, distorted, _skakki-fótr_, wry leg, Norse
_skakk_, crooked, so Sw. dial. _skak_, Dan. _skak_, slanting.
The palatal _sh_ is unusual, but cp. _dash_ from _daska_.
Norse words generally preserve _sk_ in all positions, genuine
Eng. words do not. See Part I, 12 and 13.
SHIEL, _sb._ shelter, protection. Burns, 226, 119, 3. O.N, _skjól_,
shelter, cover, refuge, Norse _skjul_, _skjol_, pron. _shul_,
_shol_, Dan. _skjul_, id., _skjule_, to conceal. _Shielin_,
sb. shelter, may be formed from the vb.
SHORE, _vb._ to threaten. Ramsay, I, 261. Origin rather doubtful.
Has been considered Scand. See _schoir_.
SIT (sīt), _vb._ to grieve. Wallace, I, 438. O.N. _sýta_, Norse
_syta_, to care. See _syte_, sb.
SITEFULL, _adj._ sorrowful, distressing. Douglas, I, 40, 19. Cp.
Norse _suteful_. See _syte_, sb.
SKAIL, SKALE, SCALE, _vb._ to scatter, disperse, dismiss, part,
leave. A very common word. O.N. _skilja_, separate, O. Dan.
_skiliæ_, Norse, _skilja_, Dan. _skille_, Sw. dial. _skila_.
The long vowel is unusual. Cp. _skeely_ in N. Sco. from O.N.
_skilinn_. The same change of _i_ to an e-vowel is observed in
_gleit_ and _quey_.
SKAIL, _sb._ a storm, a strong wind that "skails." Isaiah, XXVIII,
2. See _skail_, vb.
SKATH, SKAITH, SCAITH, _sb._ harm, misery. O.N. _skaði_, harm,
damage, Norse _skade_, id., Dan. _skade_, O.E. _sceaða_.
SKANT, _sb._ want, poverty. Burns, 290, I, 3. O.N. _skammt_. See
Skeat. Cp. _skerum skamti_, in short measure.
SKANTLIN, _sb._ little. Burns, 5, 5, 7. As adv. generally
_skantlins_, _scantlings_, scarcely. O.N. _skamt_.
SKANTLY, _adv._ with difficulty, hardly. C.S., 69. See _skant_.
SKAR, _sb._ a scarecrow, a fright. Lyndsay, 437, 1633. From vb.
_skar_, to frighten, Eng. _scare_, M.E. _skerren_. O.N.
_skirra_. See Skeat.
SKEIGH, _adj._ originally meant timid, then very frequently, dainty,
nice, finally, proud. Dunbar, T.M.W., 357. Burns, 193, 46, I.
Norse _sky_, Dan. _sky_, adj. and also vb. _sky_, to avoid.
B-S. compares Sw. _skygg_ also, which is the same word, but
the vowel is long. The Sco. word, furthermore, seems to
suggest an older diphthong. It could, however, not be O.E.
_sceah_, which gave M.E. _scheah_ and should have become
_schee_ in N. Sco. Doubtful.
SKER, _adj._ timid, easily frightened. Dunbar, T.M.W., 357; Lyndsay,
227, 126. O.N. _skjarr_, shy, timid, Sw. dial. _skar_, M.E.
_scer_, Cu. _scar_, wild.
SKEWYT, _vb. pret._ turned obliquely. Wallace, IX, 148. O.N.
_skæifr_, O. Ic. _skeifr_, oblique, Norse _skæiv_, _skjaiv_,
crooked, Dan. _skjæv_. The Dan word exhibits monophthongation
of _æi_ to _æ_ (not to _e_, _i_, as in _sten_).
SKILL, _sb._ motive, reason. Gol. and Gaw., 147; Bruce, I, 214, 7.
See Skeat, and Kluge and Lutz. In Dunbar, 307, 63, "did nane
skill," did not do a wise thing.
SKOG, SCOUG, _sb._ place of retreat, shelter, protection. Dalr.,
I, 30, 29; Isaiah, XXXII, 2. O.N. _skuggi_, shade, Norse
_skugge_, O. Sw. _skuggi_.
SKOGY, _adj._ shady. Douglas, III, 1, 21, 16. See _scoug_.
SKRECH, SKRIK, _sb._ a scream, yell. C.S., 39; Rolland, IV, 336.
O.N. Norse _skrik_, a cry, a yell, _skrikja_, vb. Dan.
_skrig_. Cu. _skrike_ to scream. Eng. _shriek_ < O.E.
*_scrician_.
SKRYP, _sb._ bag. Dunbar, F., 509. O.N. _skreppa_, a bag, Norse
_skreppa_, Dan. _skreppe_, Sw. _skräppa_, id.
SKUGG, _sb._ a shadow. Dunbar, III, 24, 12. O.N. _skuggi_. See
_skog_. Cp. _skog_, vb. to hide. Isaiah, XXVIII, 15.
SKYLE, _vb._ to hide, cover. Jamieson, quotation from Henryson. O.N.
_skjúla_, O. Ic. _skjóla_, to screen, shelter, Norse _skjula_,
Dan. _skjul_, Sw. _skyla_, Fer. _skỹla_, Shetland _skail_,
_skol_, cover, protect. Our word corresponds most closely to
the Fer. word. Both are developed out of O.N. _skjúla_. Cp.
O.N. _mjúkr_ > _meek_, in standard Eng. Norse _skjula_ has
preserved the original unumlauted vowel. The O.N. word was
pronounced _sk-iula_ or _sk-júla_. Cp. _skjenka_, which is
N. Norse dial. _sheinka_. From _skj_ developed _sh_ in
_shielin_.
SKYRIN, _adj._ shining, conspicuous because of brightness, showy.
Burns, 210, 87, 3. O.N. _skirr_, clear, bright, _skira_, to
make clear, _skýra_, to purify. (Cp. Norse _skjerr-torsdag_,
O.N. _skiriþorsdagr_, Maundy Thursday.) O.E. _scir_ > N. Eng.
_sheer_.
SLAIK, _vb._ to smooth, to lick. L.L., 457, 2173. O.N. _slæikja_, to
lick, Norse _sleikja_, Dan. _slikke_, O. Sw. _slekia_, Sw.
dial. _släkja_. The Eng. word _slick_, with a short vowel,
corresponds exactly to the Dan. word, but may be native. Cp.
M.L.G. _slicken_. _Slikke_ in Dan. may be a loan-word from
L.G. The Sco. _slaik_ corresponds in every way to the O.N.,
and is certainly a loan-word proved by quality and quantity of
vowel.
SLAK, _sb._ a pit, a hollow in the ground, hollow place. Bruce, XIV,
536; R.R., 769. O.N. _slakki_, a slope, Norse _slakke_, Dan.
_slank_. Exhibits W. Scand. assimilation of _nk_ to _kk_. Cu.
_slack_, a shallow dell (Dickinson), Kent, _slank_.
SLE, _adj._ experienced, skillful. Bruce, XVI, 355; XVII, 44. O.N.
_slægr_, O. Ic. _slægr_, Eng. _sly_. See Skeat.
SLEEK, _adj._ neat, prancing, said of a horse. Burns, 7, 1, 1. O.N.
_slikr_, smooth. _Sleikit_, smooth, Dunbar, 567, 38; Burns,
117, 114. See Skeat, under _sleek_, _slick_.
SLEUTH, _sb._ track. Bruce, VII, 1 and 44. O.N. _slóð_, track,
trail. Cp. Norse _slod_, _slode_.
SLOKE, _vb._ to quench. Isaiah, I, 2, 3; and 49, 26. O.N. _slökva_,
to quench. O. Ic. _slækva_, Norse _slökka_, id. The word does
not show the Scand. umlaut _o_ > _ö_. Cu. _sleck_ has further
developed the umlaut _ö_ to _e_. Cp. O. Ic. _æ_ < O. Nh. _æ_.
All such words in Norse exhibit the intermediate stage _ö_ up
to the present time. In Ic. the _ö_ developed to _æ_, in the
first half of the 13th century. (See Noreen P.G.(2)I, 529.)
In later O. Nhb. also _æ_ > _e_.
SLOKEN, SLOKYN, _vb._ to quench, to satisfy. Dunbar, T.M.W., 283;
K.Q., 42; M.W., 116, 35. O.N. _slokna_, Norse _slokna_,
inchoative of _slökva_. It may, however, be an infinitive in
_en_ from _slökkva_, see _slock_.
SLOKNING, _sb._ the act of quenching, also the power of quenching.
Douglas, II, 26, heading of Chapter XII; Montg. C. and S.,
1377. Pr. p., see _sloken_. Cp. O.N. _slokning_, Dan.
_slukning_.
SLONK, _sb._ a ditch, a depression in the land, also a slope on the
mountain side. Winyet, II, 19, 5; Wallace, III, 4. Dan.
_slank_, a depression in the land, a hollow, O.N. _slakki_,
Norse _slakke_. The non-assimilation proves E. Scand. source.
Cp. Sw. dial. _slakk_ adj. bending, e.g., "bakken jär no na
slakk," the hill slopes a great deal, again a W. Scand. form
in Sw. dial. The word is probably related to Eng. _slack_,
loose, lax, Dan. _slak_, Norse _slāk_.
SLUT, _sb._ a slattern, an untidy woman. Dunbar, 119, 71. O.N.,
O. Ic. _slöttr_. See Skeat.
SMAIK, _sb._ a coward. Sat. P., 39, 175; Lyndsay, 425, 1320, and
434, 1562. O.N. _smöykr_, adj. timid, M.L.G. _smeker_ means
"a flatterer," besides the vowel, as well as the final _r_ of
the L.G. word, is against a L.G. origin of the Sco. word. The
Sco. _ai_ indicates an original diphthong. Cp. Cu. _smaik_
applied to a small boy, or any small being.
SNAPE-DIKE, _sb._ an enclosure. Jamieson, Ayr. Cp. O.N. _snap_,
a pasture for cattle, especially a winter pasture (Haldorson),
_snapa_, vb. to nibble, M.E. _snaipen_. The vowel in the Sco.
word proves an original open _a_, hence it is from the vb.
_snapa_. O.N. _snap_, sb. would have given _snăp_. Our word
is _snēp._
SNIB, SNEB, _vb._ to snub, check, reprove. Sat., P., 33, 18; L.L.,
3387. Dan. _snibbe_, M.E. _snibben_. Eng. _snub_ and M.E.
_snubben_ correspond to O.N. _snubba_ with original unumlauted
vowel.
SNITE, _vb._ to blow the nose, to snuff a candle. Jamieson. O.N.
_snýta_, Norse _snyta_, used exactly the same way, Dan.
_snyde_. Sw. _snute_ and M.L.G. _snuten_ have unumlauted vowel
which would have given _snoot_, _snowt_, or _snoit_ in Sco.
SOCK, _vb._ to examine, investigate. Fergusson, 169. Probably from
O.N. _sækja_, to seek, Norse _söka_, _sökja_, Dan. _söge_
since O. Nhb. _sæca_ later became _sēca_ and developed as
W.S. _sécan._
SOLANDE, _sb._ a soland goose. Dalr., I, 25, 1. O.N. _súla_ + _n_
(Skeat). The _d_ is epenthetic. The _n_ is the post-positive
definite article, a peculiarly Scand. characteristic.
SOP, _sb._ a round, compact body. Bruce, III, 47. O.N. _soppr_,
a ball (Skeat), Norse _sopp_, id. Cp. Cu. _sop_, "a milk-
maid's cushion for the head."
SOUM, _sb._ The rope or chain a plow is drawn by. Dunbar, III, 126,
21. O.N. _saumr_, a seam, trace. In Bruce, X, 180, _hede-
soyme_, sb. the trace.
SOYM, _sb._ trace of a cart. Bruce, X, 233. From O.N. _saumr_,
a seam (Skeat), Norse _saum_, Dan. _söm_. For _oy_ in place of
_ou_, as we should expect, cp. _gowk_ and _goilk_, _lowp_ and
_loip_, etc., and the Norse _laupa_ and _loipa_.
SPAE, SPA, _vb._ to prophesy. Douglas, II, 142, 2; II, 2; Burns, 37,
2, 2. O.N. _spá_, to prophesy, Norse _spaa_, Dan. _spaa_, id.
Cp. _spaamand_, _spaafolk_, and Sco. _spaeman_, _spaefolk_,
_spaewife_.
SPAY, SPE, _sb._ prophecy, omen, augury. Dalr., II, 5, 8; Isaiah,
XLVII, 12. O.N. _spá_, a prophecy. _Vǫluspá_, the vala's
prophecy, M.E. _spa_.
SPAEQUEAN, _sb._ fortune teller, spaewife. Isaiah, XLVII. O.N.
_spákona_, a woman who spaes. The compound may, however,
be Sco.
SPALE, _sb._ lath, chip, splinter. R.R., 1979; Burns, 132, 114.
Norse _spela_, _spila_, _speil_, a splinter, a chip, also
_spol_. O.N. _spölr_, a rail, bar, lattice work, sometimes
means "a short piece of anything." Cu. _speal_. The O.E. word
is _speld._ Cp. Fr. _espalier_.
SPENN, _vb._ to button, to lace. Jamieson. O.N. _spenna_, to clasp.
Norse _spenna_, lace, _spenne_ sb. a buckle, Dan. _spænde_,
Sw. _spänne_, to lace. The O.E. word is _spannan_, without
umlaut. The meaning as well as the form of the Sco. word is
Scand.
SPRACK, _adj._ lively, animated. Jamieson. O.N. _sprǽkr_, quick,
strong, sprightly, Norse _spræk_, spry, nimble, Dan. _spræk_,
M.E. _sprac_. This is one of a few undoubted Scand. words
found in South Eng. diall.
SPIL, _sb._ a stake. Douglas, III, 250, 16. O.N. *_spílr_, variant
of _spölr_. Cp. Norse _spil_, in the diall. of Western Norway.
See _spale_.
SPRATTLE, _vb._ to walk through mud, to scramble through wet and
muddy places as the result of which one's clothes become
soiled. Burns, 10, 11, 3; also 68, 1, 3. O.N. _spretta_, Norse
_spretta_ to spurt, sputter, splash, Sw. _spritte_. On
assimilation of _nt_, cp. _sprent_. The _l_ is frequentative.
Exhibits characteristic Sco. change of _e_ to _a_ before t.
Cp. _wat_ for _wet_, _swat_ for _sweat_.
SPRENT, _vb._ to start, spring. Wallace, N, 23. O. Dan. _sprenta_,
spurt out, spring, start, O.N. _spretta_, Norse _spretta_,
shoot forth, spurt. In Cu. a pen is said to _sprent_ when it
scatters the ink over the paper. So in Norse. The Sco. word
agrees more closely in meaning with the Norse than with the
Dan. but exhibits E. Scand. non-assimilation of _nt_ to _tt_
which took place in Norse before 1000. Sw. diall. which
otherwise have many W. Scand. characteristics have both
_sprenta_ and _spritta_. The word _sprætte_ also occurs in
later Dan.
SPRENT, _sb._ a spring, as the back spring of a knife. Wallace, IV,
238. See _sprent_, vb.
STAKKER, STACKER, _vb._ to stagger. Brace, II, 42; Gol. and Gaw.,
II, 25. O.N. _stakra_. See B-S. under M.E. _stakerin_. Cp.
Norse _stakra_, to stagger, to fall.
STANG, _vb._ to sting. R.R., 771. O.N. _stanga_, to prick, goad,
also to butt, Norse _stanga_, Dan. _stange_, id., M.E.
_stangen_.
STAPP, _vb._ to put into, to stuff, fill. Dunbar, T.M.W., 99; Montg.
C. and S., 1552; Isaiah, VI, 6; M.W. 21, 12. O.N. _stappa_, to
stamp down, Norse _stappa_, to stuff, fill, same as O.E.
_stempan_, Eng. _stamp_, Dan. _stampe_. The assimilated form
_stampa_ occurs in Norse beside _stappa_. The usage in Sco. is
distinctively Norse and the vowel is the Norse vowel. Not the
same as Eng. _stop_, O.E. (_for_)_stoppian_ in Leechdoms. With
the last cp. Dan. _stoppe_ used just like Eng. _stop_.
STARN, _sb._ the helm of a vessel. Dunbar, F., 450. O.N. _stjorn_,
steerage, helm, Norse _stjorn_, vb. _stjorna_, to steer,
cognate with Eng. _steer_, O.E. _styrian_. For a similar
difference between the Eng. and the Norse word cp. Eng. _star_
and Norse _stjerne_.
STARR, _sb._ sedge, heavy coarse grass. Jamieson. See Wall under
_star_.
STERN, STARN, _sb._ star. C.S., 48; Dunbar, G.T. 1; Lindsay, 239,
492. O.N. _stjarna_, Dan. _stjerne_, star, Norse _stjerna_.
STERT, _vb._ to start, rush. Poet. R., 109, 8. O.N. _sterta_. For
discussion of this word see Skeat.
STOOP, _sb._ See _roop_.
STORKYN, _vb._ to become rigid, stiffen. Dunbar, 248, 48. Norse
_storkna_, coagulate, become rigid. See Wall under _storken_.
STOT, _sb._ a young bull, bullock. Montg., C. and S., 1099; A.P.B.
1, 306; Burns, 231, 129, 4. Stratmann derives M.E. _stot_,
"buculus," from Sw. _stut_; and _stot_, "caballus," from O.E.
_stotte_. O.N. _stútr_ is rather the source of the former.
Norse _stut_, Dan. _stud_.
STOUR, _sb._ a pole. Douglas, III, 248, 27. O.N. _staur_, a pole,
a stake, Norse _staur_, Sw. _stör_, Dan. and Dano-Norse
_stör_. See the quotation under _pocknet_.
STOWIT, _pt. p._ cutoff, cropped. Douglas, III, 42, 3. O.N. _stúfa_,
a stump, _stýfa_, to cut off, Dan. _stuve_, Sw. _stuf_,
a piece left after the rest has been cut away, _styva_, to
crop, O. Sw., Sw. dial. _styva_, _stuva_, id. An O.E.
_styfician_, to root up, occurs once (Leechdoms). See B-T.
STOWP, _sb._ a pitcher, a beaker. Dunbar, 161, 26. O.N. _staup_,
a beaker, a cup, Norse _staup_, id., Dan. _stöb_, O.E.
_stēap_, O.H.G. _stouf_.
STRAY, STRAE, STRA, _sb._ straw. O.N. _strá_, Dan., Norse _straa_,
Sw. _strå _, Cu. _strea_.
STROUP, (strūp), _sb._ the spout of a kettle or pump. Burns, 602;
Jamieson. O.N. _strjúpi_, the spurting trunk, Norse _strupe_
and _striupe_, the throat, gullet, Dan. _strube_, id., M.E.
_strūpe_, the throat.
STUDIE, _sb._ anvil. Dunbar, 141, 52. The word rhymes with _smidy_.
See _styddy_.
STYDDY, STUDDIE, STUTHY, _sb._ anvil. Douglas, III, 926, 9;
III, 180, 26; Dunbar 141, 52. See also Burns, 502. O.N.
_steði_, a stithy, an anvil. Norse _sted_. Sw. _städ_.
Exhibits change of ð to _d_ which is a Sco. characteristic,
but does not often take place in Norse words. See, too, Cu.
_stiddy, steady_.
SUMPH, _sb._ a blunt fellow. Burns, 98, 1. Norse _sump_, a bungler,
a simpleton, _sumpa_, vb. to entangle, put into disorder,
_sump_, a disordered mass. Cu. _sumph_. M.L.G. _sump_, and
Dan. _sump_ do not seem to be quite the same.
SWARF, _vb._ originally to turn, then to overturn, fall over, fall.
Burns, 211, 87, 4. O.N. _svarfa_, to turn aside, to be turned
upside down, Sw. _swarfve_, Norse _svarva_, turn, swing about,
Dan. _svarve_ or _svarre_. Eng. _swerve_ does not quite
correspond. O.E. _sweorfan_ meant "to file, polish," O.S.
_swerban_, to wipe off, polish, O.F. _swerva_, to creep.
SWAGE, SWEY, _vb._ sway, waver, also turn, make turn. Sat. P., 5, 8;
Douglas, II, 104, 12. O.N. _svæigja_, to bend, to sway, Dan.
_sveie_, Sw. dial. _sväiga_, Norse _sveigja_.
SYTE, _sb._ grief, suffering. Lyndsay, 273, 333. Montg., M.P.,
V, 14. O.N. _sýta_, to wail, _sýting_, sb., _sút_, grief,
affliction, Norse _sut_, care, _syta_, to care. Skeat cites
_sut_ (in list) which would exactly correspond to the O.N. sb.
Brate accepts an O.N. sb. _syt_.
TAIT, _adj._ foul. Montg., F., 755. O.N. _tað_. The change of _ð_ to
_t_ is unusual. See Wall.
TANGLE, _sb._ seaweed, stalk of a seaweed. Dalr., I, 62, 1; Burns,
91, 2, 2. O.N. _þöngul_, tangle, seaweed. Cp. _þönglabakki_,
Tangle-hill, name of a place in Iceland. In Norse _tangel_
same as Eng. _tangle_, _entangle_.
TANGLING, _pr. p._, _adj._ clinging, intertwining. Burns, 60, 3,
tangling roots, clinging together in tangles. See _tangle_.
TARN, _sb._ a small lake. Jamieson. O.N. _tjörn_, a small lake,
Norse _tjönn_, _tjörn_, Sw. _tjärn_, M.E. _terne_, a lake.
Particularly Sco. and N.W. Eng. Cp. Shetland _shon_, _shoden_,
a pool, a little lake. The last example exhibits W.Norse
change of _rn_ to _dn_. The form _tjödn_ occurs in Sogn,
Norway.
TATH, _sb._ Jamieson. O.N. _tað_. See Wall.
TEAL, TILL, _vb._ to entice. Wallace, VI, 151, and Jamieson. O.N.
_tæla_, to entice, related to Norse _telja_. Sco. _tealer_,
_sb._ Jamieson. The form in _i_ is strange.
TEYND, TEIND, _sb_, tithe. C.S., 123; Lyndsay, 152, 4690; Rolland,
I, 546. O.N. _tíund_, the tenth, the tithe, Norse _tiende_,
Dan. _tiende_, the regular ordinal of _ti_.
THA, _dem. pron._ these, those. Same form in all cases. Wallace, X,
41; Wyntoun, I, 1, 6. O.N. _þeir_.
THECK, _vb._ to thatch. Ramsay, II, 224. Has been taken as a loan-
word from O.N. _þekja_, to thatch, Norse _tekka_, Sw. _täcka_.
Cp. O.E. _þeccan. Theck_ probably comes from O. Nhb. _þecca._
THIR, _dem. pron._ these, those. Bruce, I, 76; Dunbar, G.T., 127;
Lyndsay, 4, 20, 1175; R.R., 108. O.N. _þeir._ Cp. M.E. _þir_,
_þer_, those, Cu. _thur_.
THRA, _adj._ eager. Bruce, XVIII, 71. O.N. _þrár_, obstinate,
persistent, Norse _traa_, untiring, also wilful, Sw. dial.
_trå_, M.E. _þra_, bold, strong, _thraly_, adv. Wyntoun, II,
8, 55; VII, 8, 186. See Wall. Skeat cites Eng. dial. _thro_.
THRA, _adv._ boldly. Dunbar, T.M.W., 195. See above, _thra_.
TRAIF, _sb._ two stooks or twenty-four sheaves of grain. Dunbar,
228. O.N. _þrefi_, a number of sheaves, Dan. _trave_, Sw.
_trafwe_, twenty sheaves of grain, M.E. _þrāve_, a bundle,
a number, Cu. _threve_, _threeav_.
THREAVE, _sb._ a crowd, a large number. Ramsay, II, 463. The same
word as _thraif_, q.v.
THRIST, _vb._ to thrust, push, also means to clasp. Bruce, XIII,
156; R.R. 12, 9; Rolland, IV, 590. O.N. _þrýsta_, to thrust,
force, Norse _trysta_, to press together, M.E. _þrīsten,
þrȳstan._ Lyndsay also uses the word in the sense of
"to pierce."
THWAITE, _sb._ originally a small piece of cleared land on which
ahouse was built, a cottage with its paddock. O.N. _þvæit_,
O. Ic. _þveit_. Northwest England _thwaite_, Norse _tveit_,
_tvæit_, Dan. _tved_. Occurs in a number of place-names in
S. Scotland, especially in Dumfriesshire. Its form is Norse
not Dan. _Thweet_ or _thwet_ would correspond to the Dan.
word, but see also Part III, 1.
TIT, TYT, adv. soon, quickly. Bruce, II, 4; IV, 289. O.N. _títt_,
adv. frequently, in quick succession, "höggva hart ok títt."
The Sco. word comes from this O.N. form, which is simply the
neuter inflected form of _tiðr_, adj. meaning "customary,
familiar." The comparative _titter_ often means "rather" in
Sco., like Eng. _sooner_. Cp. Cu. "I'd as tite deat as nut,"
"I'd as lief do it as not."
TITHAND, TITAND, _sb._ news, tidings. Bruce, IV, 468; Lyndsay,
341, 720. O.N. _tiðindi_, news, Norse _tidende_, id., Dan.
_tidende_, Orm. _tiþennde._ Of O.E. _tidung_ > _tidings_
Bosworth says: "the use of the word, even if its form be not
borrowed from Scand., seems to have Scand. influence."
TITLENE, _sb._ the hedge sparrow. C.S., 38. O.N. _titlingr_, a tit,
a sparrow.
TOYM, TUME, _sb._ leisure. Bruce, V, 64, 2, XVII, 735. O.N. _tóm_,
leisure (Skeat).
TRAIST, _vb._ to trust. Bruce, I, 125; XVII, 273; Rolland, I, 27.
_Trast_, _adj._ secure, _traist_, _sb._ confidence. Lindsay,
229, 195. _Traisting_, _sb._ confidence, reliance, L.L., 25.
Cp. O.N. _tröysta_, _adj._ _traustr_, and Eng. _trust_, M.E.
_trusten_. I do not at present understand the relation between
the forms in _e_, and these in _u_ and _ou_.
TRIG, _adj._ trim, neat, handsome. M.W., 159, 26. O.N. _tryggr_,
true, trusty, unconcerned, _trygging_, security, O. Dan.
_trygd_, _trugd_, confidence (Schlyter), Norse _trygg_,
secure, unconcerned, confident, _tryggja_, to consider secure,
_tryggja sek_, feel secure, Dan. _tryg_, fearless, confident.
Cp. Cu. _trig_, tight, well-fitted, "trig as an apple." The
M.E. _trig_ means faithful, see B-S. Ramsay, II, 526, uses the
adv. _trigly_ in the sense of "proudly."
TWIST, _sb._ twig, branch. Bruce, VII, 188; Montg., C. and S.,
Irving, 468. O.N. _kvistr_, a twig, O. Dan., _quist_, Norse,
Dan. _kvist_, Sw. _quist_, id. For the change of _kv_ (_kw_)
to _tw_ cp. Norse, Dan. _kviddre_, Sw. _quittra_, Du.
_kwittern_ with Eng. _twitter_, and _kj_ to _tj_ in W.Norse.
A regular change.
TYNE, _vb._ lose, impair, destroy. C.S., 3; Wyntoun, IX, 21, 14;
R.R. 779. O.N. _týna_, to lose, destroy, Norse _tyna_, to
lose, sometimes impair, Sw. dial. _tyna_, to destroy.
TYNSELL, TYNSALE, _sb._ loss. Bruce, V, 450, XIX, 449; R.R., 505. In
Wyntoun, IX, 3, 25, it means "delay, loss of time," frequently
means "loss of life, slaughter." M.E. _tinsel_, loss, ruin,
probably a Sco. formation from _tyne_, to lose, similarly in
Norse _tynsell_, loss (not frequent), from _tyna_.
TYNSALE, _vb._ to lose, suffer loss. Bruce, XIX, 693. See the sb.
TYTT, _adj._ firm, tight. Wallace, VII, 21, 2. O.N. _þittr_, tight,
close, Norse, _tett_ or _titt_, Dan. _tæt_, Sw. _tät_, close
together, tight, Eng. dial. _theet_. The long vowel in _theet_
is unusual.
UG, _vb._ to dislike, abhor. Winyet, II, 31, 32; Scott, 71, 119.
O.N. _ugga_, abhor, Norse _ugga_, see B-S.
UGSUM, _adj._ fearful. Sat. P., 3, 135. See _ug_. _Ougsum_, Howlate,
I, 8, means "ugly."
UNDERLIE, _adj._ wonderful. Gau, 29, 24. Dan. _underlig_, Norse,
_underleg_, O.N. _underlegr_, wonderful, shows Scand. loss of
_w_ before _u_. The O.E. word is _wundorlic_, cp. Scand.
_ulf_, Eng. _wolf_. The word is Dan. in Gau.
UNFLECKIT, _adj._ unstained. Psalms, XXIV, 4. See _fleckerit_.
UNGANAND (gēn.), _adj._ unfit, unprepared. Douglas, II, 48, 16.
See _ganand_.
UNRUFE, _sb._ restlessness, vexation. Gol. and Gaw., 499. See
_rove_, sb. Cp. Norse _uro_, restlessness, noise, Dan. _uro_,
id.
UNSAUCHT, _adj._ disturbed, troubled. Gol. and Gaw., II, 12. See
_saucht_.
UPBIGARE, _sb._ a builder. Winyet, II, 3, 4. See _big_. Cp. Norse
_bygga up_.
UPLOIP, _vb._ leap up. Montg., M.P., III, 33. See _loup_. On this
change of _ou_ to _oi_ cp. the same word in Norse, _laupa_ and
_loipa_.
VATH, WAITH, _sb._ danger. Bruce, V, 418; Wallace, IX, 1737.
O.N._váði_, harm, mishap, disaster, Dan. _vaade_, danger,
adversity, Sw. _våde_, an unlucky accident, M.E. _wāþe_,
peril. Does not seem to exist in the modern diall.
VITTERLY, _adv._ certainly. Bruce, IV, 771; X, 350. O.N. _vitrliga_,
wisely, Dan. _vitterlig_, well-known, undoubted, M.E.
_witerliche_, certainly.
VYNDLAND, _pr. p._ whirling around. Bruce, XVII, 721. O.N. _vindla_,
to wind up. Norse _vindel_, a curl, anything twisted or wound.
Cu. _winnel_. Cp. Dan. _vindelbugt_, a spiral twist. Skeat
cites provincial Eng. _windle_, a wheel for winding yarn.
WAG, _vb._ to totter, walk unsteady. Dunbar, 120, 98. Norse,
_vagga_, to swing, rock, sway, O.N. _vaga_, to waddle. See
further Skeat.
WAGGLE, _vb._ to wag, sway from side to side, wabble. M.W., 16, 23;
51, 5. Sw. dial. _vagla_, _vackla_, to reel, Norse _vakla_,
id. May be taken as a Sco. frequentative of _wag_, q.v. Not to
be derived from the L.G. word. Confined to the Scand.
settlements.
WAILIE, _adj._ excellent. Burns, 179, 2, 3, and 8, 7. See _wale_,
sb.
WAILIT, _adj._ choice, fashionable, excellent. Rolland, I, 64. See
_wail_, vb.
WALE, _vb._ to select, choose. Douglas, III, 3, 21; Dunbar, G.T.,
186. Probably from the noun _wale_, choice. The vowel does not
correspond with that of the O.N. vb. _velja_, which should
have become _well_. But the forms _dwall_ from O.N. _dvelja_,
and _hale_, O.N. _hella_, appear in Sco. _Wale_ may be a
formation analogous to _hale_.
WAITH, _sb._ the spoil of the chase or of fishing. Wallace, I, 386.
O.N. _væiðr_, a catch in hunting or fishing. Norse _veidd_,
the chase, _veida_, to hunt. On Sco. _faid_, a company of
hunters. See I, §22.
WANDRETH, _sb._ sorrow, trouble. Douglas, I, 88, 14. O.N.
_vandræði_, difficulty, trouble. Norse, _vanraad_, misery,
poverty.
WANT, VANT, _vb._ lack, stand in need of, suffer. Montg., S., 48, 3;
Lyndsay, 152, 40704; Bruce, V, 422; Burns, 113, 2, 3. O.N.
_vanta_, to lack. Norse _vanta_, lack, never means desire.
This is the regular use of the word in Sco.
WANTHREIVIN, _adj._ unthriven, miserable. Montg., F., 327. O.N.
_van_ + _þrifenn_, Norse _vantreven_, O.N. vb. _þrifa_, Norse
_triva_, _vantriva_ (refl.). See Skeat under Eng. _thrive_ and
_thrift_.
WAP (wæ̆p), _vb._ to turn, overturn, throw, hurl. Douglas, I, 2,
20; III, 167, 28; Gol. and Gaw., 127. O.N. _vappa_, to waddle.
Norse _vappa_, turn, wrap around. Sw. dial. _vappla_, wrap up.
Cu. _wap_, to wrap.
WARE, _vb._ to lay out money, spend. Rolland, III, 450; Dunbar, 92,
13; R.R., 3553. O.N. _verja_, to invest money. See Wall.
WAUR, _vb._ to overcome. Burns, 7, 1, 7; Psalms, CXL, 2. See _werr_.
Cp. Eng. _worst_ as a vb. and superlative of bad, worse.
WEIK, _vb._ to weaken. Scott, 68, 14. Cp. Norse _veikja_, to
weaken, make weak. O.N. _væikja_, to grow weak, both from adj.
_væikr_, weak, same as O.E. _wāc_. The Sco. vb. may be
formed directly from the adj., in which case its origin
becomes uncertain. Skeat says Eng. _weak_, M.E. _weyke_ (which
replaced _wook_ < O.E. _wāc_), is from O.N. _væikr_. But
the M. Sco. form of O.E. or O. Nhb. _wāc_ was _wāke_
(wēk); our word could come from this. The diphthong,
however, rather indicates that it comes from the Norse vb.
WEILL-VARANDLY, _adv._ in a proper manner. R.R., 911. See _farrand_.
Cp. O.N. _fara vel_, Norse _fara vel_, to go well, _velfaren_,
gone well.
WELTER, _vb._ to roll, turn, overturn. Bruce, XI, 25; III, 700;
Douglas, II, 125, 25; T.M.W., 439; Lyndsay, 342, 770. O.N.
_valtra_, to be unsteady, not firm, easily shaken. O. Sw.
_valltra_, Sw. dial. _välltra_, to roll.
WERR, WERE, WAR, VAR, WAUR, _adj._ worse. C.S., 57; Lyndsay,
428, 1392; R.R., 589, etc. O.N. _verr_, worse, Norse _verr_,
_verre_, Dan. _værre_, Sw. _värr_, Cu. _waar_. This is the
modern Sco. pronunciation of it. The O. Fr. _wirra_ does not
correspond to the Sco. forms of the word. It is most common in
Scotland and N.W. England.
WICHT, _adj._ strong, vigorous, skillful. Bruce, VII, 263; Ramsay,
I 253. O.N. _vígr_, fit for battle, skilled in war, from
_víg_, battle, Sw. _vig_, active, M.E. _wiht_, valiant. B-S.
queries the word, but thinks it may come from M.L.G. _wicht_,
heavy, thus the same word as Eng. _weight_. This meaning is,
however, not satisfactory. The Sco. usage is that of the
Scand. word. The _t_ is inflectional. Cp. O.N. _eiga vígt um_.
WICK, _vb._ to make to turn, to strike off on the side, strike a
stone in an oblique direction, a term in curling, to hit the
corner (Wagner). O.N. _víkja_, to turn, to veer, Sw. dial.
_vik_, Sw. _wika_, Norse _vikja_, _vika_, to turn (causative).
Dan. _vige_ not quite the same word.
WILKATT, _sb._ a wild cat, Dalr., I, 723. Ramsay II, 500. O.N.
_vill_ + Eng., Norse _cat_, _kat_.
WILL, VILL, _adj. adv._ lost, bewildered, astray. Dunbar, 228, 74;
Douglas, II, 24, 6, "to go will." O.N. _villr_, bewildered,
_fara villt_, get lost, Norse _vill_, astray, Dan. _vild_, Sw.
_vill_. Cp. Cu. _wills_, doubts, "Aaz i' wills whether to gang
or nit."
WILRONE, _sb._ a wild boar. Scott, 71, 106. O.N. _vill_, wild, +
_runi_, a boar, a wild boar, Norse _rone_, _raane_, Sw. dial.
_råne_, Dan., with metathesis, _orne_.
WILSUM, _adj._ errant, wandering. Douglas, II, 65, 16; "a wilsome
way," "Freires of Berwick," 410. See _will_, astray. _Wilsum_
more frequently means "willful," is Eng.
WISSLE, VISSIL, WYSSIL. Douglas, III, 225, 8; Bruce, XII, 580;
Montg., F., 578. O.N. _vixla_, to cross, to put across,
_vixlingr_, a changeling (Cl. and V.), Norse _veksla_,
_vessla_, to exchange, Dan. _veksle_. Sco. and Norse both show
the change of _ks_ to _ss_. The Norse form _versla_ shows
later dissimilation of _ss_ to _rs_. This is W.Norse.
WITTIR, _sb._ a sign. Douglas, II, 231, 16. See _wittering_.
WITTERING, VITTERING, _sb._ information, knowledge. Bruce, IV, 562;
Douglas, II, 185, 27. O.N. _vitring_, revelation, from vb.
_vitra_, to reveal. Norse _vitring_, information, M.E.
_witering_, id.
WELTER, _sb._ an overturning. Winyet, I, 49, 22. See the vb.
_welter_.
PART III.
1. THE DIALECTAL PROVENIENCE OF LOANWORDS.
The general character of the Scand. loanwords in Sco. is Norse, not
Dan. This is shown by (a) A number of words that either do not exist
in Dan. or else have in Sco. a distinctively W. Scand. sense;
(b) Words with a W. Scand. form.
(a). The following words have in Sco. a W. Scand. meaning
or are not found in Danish:
AIRT, to urge. O.N. _erta_. Not a Dan. word.
APERT, boldly. O.N. _apr_. Not Dan.
AWEBAND, a rope for tying cattle. O.N. _háband_. Meaning
distinctively W. Scand.
BAUCH, awkward. Not E. Scand.
BEIN, liberal. Meaning is W. Scand.
BROD, to incite. O.N. _brodda_, id. Dan. _brodde_, means "to
equip with points."
BYSNING, monstrous. O.N. _bysna_. Not E. Scand.
CARPE, to converse. Not E. Scand.
CHOWK, jawbone. Rather W. Scand. than E. Scand.
CHYNGILL, gravel. A Norse word.
DAPILL, gray. A W. Scand. word.
DYRDUM, uproar. W. Scand. The word is also found in Gael.
Furthermore the form is more W. Scand. than Dan. Cp. _dýr_ and
_dør_.
DOWLESS, worthless. _Duglauss_ a W. Scand. word.
DUDS, clothes. Not found in Dan. or Sw.
ETTLE, aim at. W. Scand. meaning. O. Dan. _ætlæ_ meant "ponder
over."
FARRAND, handsome. This meaning is Icelandic and Norse.
FELL, mountain. W. Scand. more than E. Scand.
GANE, be suitable. O.N. _gegna_. Vb. not found in Dan.
GYLL, a ravine. O.N. _gil_. Is W. Scand.
HEID, brightness. O.N. _hærð_. Icel. and Norse.
HOOLIE, slow. O.N. _hógligr_. Not in Dan. or Sw.
KENDILL, to kindle. Ormulum _kinndlenn_ is from O. Ic. _kendill_
(Brate).
LIRK, to crease. I have not found the word in E. Scand.
MELDER, flour. O.N. _meldr_. Is W. Scand., particularly Norse.
POCKNET, a fishnet. O.N. _pōki-net. _ Not Dan.
RAMSTAM, indiscreet, boisterous. Both elements are W. Scand.
SCARTH, cormorant. W. Scand.
TARN, a lake. Distinctively Norse.
TYNE, to lose. O.N. _týna_. Distinctively Norse.
WAITH, booty. O.N. _væiðr_. Icel. and Søndmøre, Norway.
WARE, to spend. N. _verja_. W. Scand.
WICK, to cause to turn. O.N. _vikja_. Not Danish.
(b). The following words are W. Scand. in form:
BOLAX, hatchet. O.N. _bolöx_. The O. Dan. word has the vowel _u_,
_bulöx_.
BOWN, O.N. _búinn_, cp. _grouf < grúfu_; _bowk_ < _búkr_;
_stroup_ < _strjúpr_; _dowless_ < _duglauss_, etc. The O. Dan.
word was _boin_. The form in Orm. is _būn_, a Norse
loanword.
BUSK, to prepare, has W. Scand. reflexive ending _sk_.
BUTH, O.N. _búð_. The O. Dan., O. Sw. vowel was _o_, _boð_ and
_bodh_, so in modern Dan. diall. In Norse diall. it is _u_.
CAPPIT shows W. Scand. assimilation of _mp_ < _pp_.
CLUBBIT shows W. Scand. assimilation of _mb_ < _bb_.
DRUCKEN exhibits W. Scand. assimilation of _nk > kk_. Cp. O. Dan.
_dronkne_, _drone_, but N.Dan. _drukken_.
HARN corresponds better to O.N. _hjarni_ than to umlauted Dan.
_hjerne_, O. Sw. _hiärne_.
ILL, WILL. Both show assimilation of _ld_ to _ll_. Cp. O.N.
_illr, villr_, but Dan. _ilde_, _vild_.
RUND, ROOND, is rather the O.N. _rond_ than Dan. _rand_.
SER, SEIR corresponds better to O.N., O. Ic. _sér_ than to
O. Dan. _sær_. This change of _e_ to _æ_ in Dan. was, however,
late, i.e., in the last part of the 10th Century. See Noreen
P.G.(2)I, 526.
SLAK, O.N. _slakki_. Shows W. Scand. assimilation of _nk_ >
_kk_.
STAPP, O.N. _stappa_. Has W. Scand. assimilation of _mp_ > _pp_.
Cp. _cappit_.
STERT is O.N. _sterta_. Cp. Dan. _styrte_.
WANDRETH is nearer to O.N. _vandræði_ than to O. Dan. *_vandraþ_
(Brate), from which N. Dan. _vanraad_.
Monophthongization of _ou_ to _o_, _ai_ to _i_ (_e_), _öy_ to _ö_
took place in O. Dan. about 900. The Scand. loanwords in Eng., where
the monophthong might be expected to appear, nearly always have the
diphthong, however, which as we know was kept in W. Scand. Have such
words been borrowed from W. Scand. then, or were they borrowed from
Dan. before the period of monophthongation? Danish settlements began
in the latter half of the 9th Century, but Dan. (and Norse) and Eng.
did not merge immediately. Scand. continued to be spoken throughout
the next century down to the beginning of the 11th Century (Noreen).
Brate says the majority of loanwords probably came in in the
beginning of the 10th Century. Wall points out that the Mercian and
the Northumbrian Gospels of the 1st part of the 10th Century show
extremely small traces of Scand. influence. It would seem, then,
that the greater number of loanwords came in after monophthongation
had taken place in Dan. The following dates for the appearance of
loanwords in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle may be of interest. These are
all taken from Egge's article, "Norse Words in the A-S. Chronicle."
_Hold_ first appears in 905, then again in 911 and 921; _law_ in the
present sense is first used in 959; in 1002 is first found the word
_grith_, peace, which at once became common; _lætan_, to think, is
first found in 1005. In 1008 appears _sagth_; in 1011 _hustinge_;
1014 _utlagian_; 1048 the noun _utlah_; 1016 _feologan_; 1036, 1046,
1047, _lithmen_, sailors; _lith_, fleet, in 1012, 1066, 1068, 1069,
1071; in 1055 _sciplith_; in 1036, 1041, 1054, 1045, and 1071
_huscarl_; _hamule_, _hamle_ 1039; _ha_ 1040; _hasata_, rower, (O.N.
_há-sæti_) in 1052; in 1048 _bunda_ and _husbunda_; 1049 _nithing_;
in the same year also the phrase _scylode of male_, paid off (O.N.
_skilja af máli_); 1052, 1066 _butscarl_, boatsman, _hytte_ in 1066,
_wyrre_ 1066. In 1072 for the first time appears _tacan_; in 1076
_hofding_ and _brydlop_, etc.
We may conclude that the Scand. elements that had come into O.Eng.
in the beginning of the 10th Century were not large. From the middle
of the century they came in in large numbers, but the period of most
extensive borrowing seems rather to be the last part of the 10th and
the first half of the 11th Century. Wall suggests that the Dan.
spoken by the Dan. settlers in England was of a more archaic kind
than that spoken in Denmark--that this might in many cases account
for the archaic character of the loanwords. We know that the
settlements in central England were predominantly Dan. as opposed
to Norse. The Scand. place-names as well as the character of the
loanwords in the Ormulum indicate that. It is probable, then, that
monophthongation took place later in the Dan. spoken in England than
in that spoken in Denmark. The following is a list of some of these
words found in Scotch. O.N. _æi_, Dan. _e_: _bayt_, to graze;
_blaik_, to cleanse; _graip_, a fork; _grane_, a branch; _graith_,
to prepare; _laike_, to play; _slaik_, to smoothen; _lairing_,
gutter; the Yorkshire form _lyring_ (Wall) seems to show an original
monophthong. O.N. _öy_: _careing_, _smaik_. O.N. _ou_, Dan. _ö_:
_blout_, bare; _douff_, dull; _gowk_, a fool; _haugh_, a knoll;
_loup_, to run; _louse_, loose; _nout_, cattle; _rowt_, to roar;
_rowst_, to cry out; _stowp_, a beaker; _stour_, a pole.
It will be seen from the above, leaving out of consideration the
diphthong _ou_ and _ai_, that the character of a large number of the
loanwords is Norse. In a great many cases the E. and W. Scand. form
of the word was the same. There are, however, a few words in Sco.
that bear a Dan. stamp: _sprent_, _donk_ and _slonk_ exhibit
E. Scand. non-assimilation of _nt_ and _nk_ to _tt_ and _kk_. _Snib_
corresponds to Dan. _snibbe_, cp. M.E. _snibben_. All these have the
umlaut. Eng. _snub_, M.E. _snubben_ and O.N. _snubba_ have the
unumlauted vowel. _Bud_ agrees closer with Dan. _bud_, _budh_, than
O.N. _boð_, Norse _bod_. _Thraive_ (Dunbar) and _threave_ (Ramsay)
both indicate an original _a_-vowel, hence correspond better to Dan.
_trave_ than O.N. _þrefi_. To these may be added _bask_, _flegger_
and _forjeskit_, which are not found in W. Scand.
2. (a) THE OLD NORTHERN VOWELS IN THE LOANWORDS.
The values given in the following tables are for Middle Scotch. The
symbols used do not need explanation:
SHORT VOWELS.
_a._
O.N. _a_ in originally close syllable > _æ_, written _a_:
_anger_, _hansell_, _apert_, _ban_, _blabber_,
_slak_, _cast_, _chaff_, _dash_, _dram_, _bang_,
_fang_, _stang_, _lack_, etc.
O.N. _a_ in originally close syllable before _r_ remains
_a_: _bark_, _carl_, _carp_, _farrand_, _garth_,
_harth_, _scarth_, _swarf_, and _harsk_ (O. Dan.).
O.N., O. Dan. _a_ in close syllable > _é_ in _blether_,
_forjeskit_, _welter_.
_a_ in close syllable > _ē_ (_ay_, _ai_) in _aynd_,
_baittenin_.
_a_ in close syllable remains _a_, written _o_ in
_cog_.
O.N. _a_ in originally open syllable regularly becomes
_ē_, written _a_, _ai_, _ay_: _dasen_, _flake_,
_maik_, _scait_, etc.
O.N. _a_ + _g_ > _ē_ written _ai_ in _braid_, _gane_
(to profit).
_a_ + _g_ > _aw_ in _bawch_. In _mawch_ _ð_ fell out
and _a_ developed as _a_ before _g_.
_e._
O.N. _e_ remains in _airt_, _bekk_, _bleck_, _cleck_,
_cleg_, _egg_ (to incite), _elding_, _esping_,
_fleckerit_, _freckled_, _gedde_, _gengeld_, _kendell_,
_melder_, _mensk_, _nevin_, _werr_, _spenn_, _stert_,
_sker_.
O. Dan. _e_ remains in _sprent_.
O.N. _e_ becomes _i_ in _lirk_, _kitling_, and before
_ng_ in _ding_, _flingin_, _hing_, and also in
_skrip_, _styddy_.
O.N. _e_ > _æ_, written _a_, in _dapill_, _clag_.
Cp. _sprattle_ in Burns.
> _æ_ before _r_ in _ware_.
> _a_ before _r_ in _karling_.
O.N. _e_ > _i_ in _neefe_ (_nieve_).
O.N. _e_ appears as _u_ in _studdy_. See word list.
O.N. _e_ (from older _æi_) > _ē_ in _hailse_.
_e_ + _g_ > _e_ written _a_, _ai:_ e.g., _haine_,
_gane_ (to suit).
_i._
O.N. _i_ generally remains _i_: _bing_, _grith_, _kist_,
_link_, _lite_, _titling_, _wilrone_, frequently
written _y_: _byng_, _chyngill_, _gyll_, etc.
O.N. _i_ before _st_ > _e_: _gestning_, _restit_.
_i_ > _ī_ in _ithand_ (_ythand_), and _ei_ in
_eident_.
_o._
O.N. _o_ remains _o_: _boldin_, _bolle_, _brod_,
_costlyk_, _loft_, _rock_, etc.
O.N. _o_ + _g_ > _ow_ in _low_.
_u._
O.N. _u_ generally remains _u_: _bught_, _buller_,
_clunk_, _cunnand_, _lucken_, _ugg_, _clubbit_,
_drucken_, _skugg_. The sound of _u_ in O.N.,
however, was approximately that of _oo_ in "foot."
O.N. _u_ > _ū_ in _drook_.
_y._
O.N. _y_ always becomes _i_, written _i_, _y_: _big_,
_birr_, _filly_, _flit_, _trig_, _wyndland_,
_gylmyr_. The O.N. _y_ had approximately the value
of Germ. _ü_.
_æ._
O.N. _æ_ > _e_ in _ettle._
_ö_
O.N. _ö_ > _e_ in _gleg_, _glegy_, appears as _u_ in
_slut_.
O.N. _ö_, _u_-_v_-umlaut of _a_, becomes _æ_, written
_a_: _daggit_, _ragweed_, _tangle_.
O.N. _ö_, _u_-umlaut of _a_ in originally open syllable,
like open _a_, > _ē_ in _spale_.
Hence _u_-umlaut does not appear in loanwords.
_ja_ (_ia_).
O.N. _ja_ > _a_ in _assle-tooth_, _harn_, _starn_.
> _e_ in _sker_ and _stern_.
_jö_ (_iö_).
O.N. _jö_ > _a_ in _tarn_.
O.N. _jö_ > _i_ before _r_ in _firth_, _gyrth_
(_gjörth_), _gyrthin_.
LONG VOWELS.
_ā_.
O.N. _ā_ regularly > _ē_, written _a_, _ai_, _ay_,
_ae_, _ei_ (?): _baith_, _blae_, _bray_, _braith_,
_fra_, _frae_, _lait_, _craik_, _ra_, _saikless_,
_spay_, etc.
O.N. _ā_ + _g_ > _aw_, _awch_, _aigh_, _aich_,
_awsome_, _law_, sb. _law_, adj. _lawch_, beside
_laigh_ and _laich_ in N. Sco.
O.N. _ā_ + _l_ > _ow_ in _chowk_ (O.N. _kjálki_).
_ē_.
O.N. _ē_ remains in _ser_, _seir_.
_ē_ > _ǣ_, written _a_, in _fallow_.
O.N. _ē_ before _tt_ > _i_, written _y_, in _tytt_.
Cp. _titt_ in W.Norse dial.
_ī_.
O.N. _ī_ most frequently remains _ī_, written _i_,
_y_: _flyre_, _gryce_, _grise_, _myth_, _skrik_,
_rive_, _ryfe_, _tithand_, etc.
O.N. _ī_ appears as _e_ in _skrech_, probably
pronounced _skrich_.
O.N. _ī_ > _ē_, written _ei_, in _quey_, _gleit_,
_keik_.
O.N. _ī_ > _ĭ_ in _scrip_, _wick_, and before
original _xl_ in _wissle_ (_wyssyl_).
The corresponding word in Norse also has a short vowel,
but changed to _e_, _veksl_, _vessla_ (and _versla_).
_ō_.
O.N. _ō_ > _ū_, written _o_, _oo_, _u_, _eu_:
_crove_, _rove_, _unrufe_, _hoolie_, _hulie_, _lufe_,
_ruse_, _roose_, _sleuth_, _tume_.
O.N. _ō_ > _ou_ in _clour_.
_ō_ > _oy_ in _toym_ (Bruce), exact sound uncertain.
_ō_ + _l_ > _ow_ in _bow_.
_ū_.
O.N. _ū_ remains in _buth_, _grouf_.
O.N. _ū_ generally > _ou_, _ow_: _boun_, _bowne_,
_bowk_, _cow_, _cour_, etc.
_ū_ > _ō_ in _solande_, _stot_.
_ū_ > _ŭ_ in _busk_.
_ȳ_.
O.N. _ȳ_ regularly > _ī_, written _i_, _y_:
_lythe_, _tyne_, _sit_, _skyrin_, _snite_. Cp. _y_.
O.N. _ȳ_ appears as _ē_ (_ei_) in _neiris_, exact
sound not certain. Cp. _ȳ_ before _st_ > _ĭ_ in
_thrist_ (O.N. _þrýsta_).
_ǣ_.
O.N. _ǣ_ remains in _hething_.
_ǣ_ > _e_ in _sait_.
_ǣ_ > _e_, _e_, in _rad_, _red_, _radness_, etc.
DIPHTHONGS.
_ai_.
O.N. _ai_ > _ē_, written _a_, _ai_, _ay_, _ei_:
_bait_, _bein_, _bayt_, _blaik_, _dey_, _grane_,
_graip_, _graith_, _heid_, _laif_, _lairet_,
_lairing_, _lak_, _laiching_, _thwaite_, _waith_,
_slaik_, _swage_, _raise_, _tha_.
O.N. _ai_ > _i_ in _nyte_ (?).
O.N. _ai_ is represented by _i_ before _r_ in _thir_.
Cp. Cu. _thur_.
O.N. _ain_ > _en_ initially in _enkrely_.
_öy_.
O.N. _öy_ > _ē_, written _e_, _ai_: _careing_, _dey_,
_smaik_.
_öy > e_ in _yemsel_ (_yhemsell_), may be a case of
Dan. monophthongation.
_ou_, _au_.
O.N. _ou_, _au_ is regularly _ou_, _ow_ in Sco.: _blowt_,
_douff_, _dowff_, _gowk_, _gowl_, _loup_, _louse_,
_nowt_, _rout_, _rowste_, _soum_. Very frequently
appears as _oi_, _oy_: e.g., _soym_, _doif_, _goilk_,
_loip_, etc.
O.N. _ou > u_ in _gukk_, vb. formed from _gowk_ (?).
_jo_.
O.N. _jo_ before _r_ > _a_ in _starn_ (O.N. _stjorn_).
_jo > ei_ in _leister_. Appears as _i_ in the N. Sco.
word _shiel_.
_ju_.
O.N. _ju_ > _ū_ in _stroop_.
_ju_ > _i_ in _skyle_.
(b) THE OLD NORTHERN CONSONANTS.
_b_.
O.N. _b_ regularly remains _b_.
Is lost after _m_ in _gylmyr_.
_b_ > _p_ initially _pirrye._
_d_.
O.N. _d_ regularly remains.
Is lost after _n_ in _hansell_.
An epenthetic _d_ appears after _n_ in _solande_,
_ythand_; after _l_ in _boldin_ and _rangeld_.
O.N. _ld_ > _ll_ in _caller_.
_g_.
O.N. _g_ regularly remains _g_ before guttural and
palatal vowels alike.
_g_ > _ȝ_ before a palatal vowel in _genȝeld_,
_yhemsel_.
O.N. _g_ disappears after _n_ in _titlene_.
_g_ > _ch_ in _bawch_, _lawch_.
On O.N. _a_ + _g_, _o_ + _g_, _e_ + _g_, see the
vowels.
_p_.
O.N. _p_ regularly remains _p_.
_p_ > _ph_ finally in _sumph_.
_t_.
O.N. _t_ regularly remains _t_.
_t_ > _tch_ in _scratch_.
Seems to have become _d_ in _cadie_ (O.N. _kátr_), but
Dan. _kådh_ may be the source.
An epenthetic _t_ after _n_ appears in _eident_.
_k_.
O.N. _k_ regularly remains _k_.
_k_ > _ch_ finally in _screch_. Cp. also _laiching_.
O.N. _ks_ (_x_) > _ss_ in _assletooth_, _wissle_.
On O.N. _sk_, see _s_.
_v_.
O.N. _v_ regularly becomes _w_: _welter_, _witter_,
_ware_, _werr_, _wicht_, etc.
O.N. _v_ is represented by _v_ in _vath_, _vittirly_,
_vyndland_, all in Bruce.
An epenthetic _v_ appears after _o_ (_u_) in _crove_,
_rove_, _unrufe_.
_ð_, _þ_
O.N. _ð_, _þ_ quite regularly > _th_: _baith_,
_bletherb_, _raith_, _buith_, _degraith_, _firth_,
_garth_, _graith_, _ithand_, _lythe_, _mythe_,
_hething_, _harth_, _grith_, _gyrth_, _waith_,
_vath_, _sleuth_, _tath_, _skaith_, _wandreth_, etc.
O.N. _ð_ > _d_ medially and finally in _eident_,
_ydlanlie_, _heid_, _red_, _duds_, _stud_.
O.N. _ð_ is lost in _mauch_.
O.N. _þ_ initially remains in _thrist_, _thra_, _thraif_,
_tha_, _thir_, _thwaite_, _wan-threvin_.
_þ_ > _t_ in _tytt_, _tangle_.
_f._
O.N. _f_ initially always remains.
Medially and finally _f_ remains in _cloff_, _nefe_,
_lufe_, _laif._
Medially and finally _f_ > _v_ in: _nieve_, _nevin_,
_rive_, _lave_, _crave_.
O.N. _f_ > _th_ in _scarth_ (O.N. _skarfr_).
An epenthetic _f_ appears in _unrufe_ (_v?_).
_s._
O.N. _s_ regularly remains _s_.
_s_ > _ch_ in _chyngill_ (?).
_sk._
O.N. _sk_ = _sk_ initially medially and finally: _skar_,
_sker_, _skewit_, _skill_, _skugg_, _skrech_,
_skant_, _scait_, _scool_, _scratch_, _scarth_,
_skait_, _skail_, _scud_, _scudler_, _script_,
_skyle_, _skeigh_, _busk_, _bask_ (dry), _harsk_,
_harskness_, _forjeskit_, _mensk_(?).
O.N. _sk_ > _sh_ finally in _dash_ (?).
_sk_ > _sh_ before a guttural vowel in _shacklet_ (?),
and _schore_ (?).
O.N. _sk_ before _i_ (_ī_) > _sh_ in _shiel_.
Cp. _skyle_ above.
_sk_ > _s_ finally in _mense_.
_h_.
O.N. _h_ initially before vowels remains, except in
_aweband_.
O.N. _h_ initially before _r_, _l_, _n_, is lost: _rad_,
_rangale_, _ruse_, _lack_, _loup_, _nieve_, etc.
O.N. _ht_ remains, is not assimilated to _tt_, e.g.,
_sacht_, _unsaucht_.
An inorganic _h_ initially appears in _hendir_,
_hugsum_.
_hv_.
O.N. _hv_ regularly > _qu_, _quh_: _quhelm_, _quey_.
_m_, _n_, _l_, _r_.
O.N. _m_ regularly remains.
_m_ before _t_ > _n_ in _skant_, _skantlin_.
O.N. _n_ always remains, _nd_ is not assimilated to _nn_.
Cp. Cu. _winnle_.
O.N. _l_ initially remains.
Medially and finally generally remains.
O.N. _l_ after _o_ > _w_: _bowdyne_, _bowne_, _bow_.
_l_ very frequently takes the place of _w_ medially:
_golk_, _dolf_.
An excrescent _l_ appears in _gylmyr_.
O.N. _r_ regularly remains.
Disappears before _sk_ in _bask_, undergoes metathesis
in _gyrth_.
Inflexional _r_ remains in _caller_.
* * * * *
Volume 1 in the Series
of
GERMANIC STUDIES
from
Columbia University
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch" ***
Copyright 2023 LibraryBlog. All rights reserved.