Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
aesir | the Norse gods. |
ard | a primitive form of plough. |
auf | an elf's child. [ON alfr, elf]. |
auk | a short-winged, black-and-white, heavy-bodied seabird of the family Alcidae. [ON alka]. |
baresark berserk berserker | a Norse warrior who fought without armor, or shirt of mail. |
beck | a brook, a stream. [ON bekkr]. |
bismar | in Orkney and Shetland, a kind of steelyard. [ON bismari]. |
blae | dark blue or bluish gray; lead-colored. [ON blar, livid]. |
bonxie | the great skua. [ON bunkie, heap]. |
brad | a thin, flat, small-headed nail; (verb) to fasten with a brad. [ON broddr spike]. |
byrnie | a coat of mail. |
cargoose | a species of grebe, aka crested grebe. [ON kjarr, copsewood + goose]. |
carr | an alder wood. |
dwale | deadly nightshade. [ON dvöl, dvali delay, sleep]. |
foud | a bailiff or magistrate in Orkney or Shetland. [ON fogeti]. |
fulmar | a gull-like sea bird. |
gairfowl garefowl | the great auk; also, the razorbill. [ON geirfugl]. |
galdragon | in Scott, an obsolete Shetland word for a sorceress or witch. [ON galdra-kona]. |
garth | a small yard surrounded by a cloister. [ON garthr, a court]. |
gaum gorm | to stare vacantly or handle in a clumsy manner. [ON gaumr, heed, attention]. |
ged | a pike. [ON gedda]. |
geo | a gully or creek. [ON gja]. |
gju gu gue | a kind of violin formerly used in the Shetlands. [ON gigja]. |
gowpen | two hands placed together to form a bowl-shape; also, the amount that can be contained in a pair of cupped hands. [ON gaupn]. |
grike gryke | a crevice in a limestone pavement. [ON kriki, a crack]. |
haaf | in Orkney, a deep-sea fishing-ground. [ON haf, sea]. |
haar | a raw sea-mist. [ON harr, hoary]. |
jarl | a chief; an earl; in English history, one of the leaders in the Danish and Norse invasions. |
jarta yarta yarto | heart, used as term of endearment in the Shetlands. [ON hjarta, heart]. |
jotun jotunn | a giant (in Norse myth). |
leister | a three-pronged spear or trident used for fishing; (verb) to spear with a leister. [ON ljostr]. |
litmus | dye obtained from lichens, used in chemical tests, being turned red by acid and blue by alkali. [ON litmosi, herbs used in dyeing, from litr colour + mosi moss]. |
marram marrum | a seaside grass. [ON marr, sea + halmr, haulm, stem]. |
mawk | a maggot. [ON mathkr, maggot]. |
ransack | to search thoroughly; to plunder; to pillage. [ON rannsaka, from rann house + sækja to seek]. |
reckling | a weak child or animal; the runt of the litter. [ON reklingr, an outcast]. |
riva | in Shetland, a cleft in rock. [ON rifa]. |
sagaman | a narrator of Icelandic or Norwegian sagas. |
scall | scabbiness, esp. of the scalp. [ON skalli, bald head]. |
scath scathe scaith skaith | injury, harm; (verb) to injure. [ON skathe]. |
scaury scourie scowrie | in the Orkneys, a young gull. [ON skari]. |
scuft | the nape of the neck. [ON skopt, skoft the hair]. |
seg | a stud in the sole of a shoe; a callus on the finger. [ON sigg, hard skin, a callus]. |
sheltie shelty | a Shetland pony or sheepdog. [ON Hjalti, a Shetlander]. |
skald | an ancient Scandinavian bard. |
skep | a farm basket, especially of wicker or straw; beehive, especially domed and made of straw; (verb) to collect into a hive. [ON skeppa bushel]. |
skerry | a small rocky island. [ON sker]. |
skoal | a drinking toast; good health!; (verb) to propose such a toast. |
skyr | curds; a yogurt-like curd cheese. |
spae | to foretell; to divine. [ON spa]. |
sparth sparthe sperthe | a long battle-axe. [ON spartha]. |
stiddie stithy | a blacksmith's forge or anvil; (verb) to forge. |
swelchie | in the Orkneys, a whirlpool; a tidal race. [ON svelgr, to swallow]. |
swidden | an area of land made cultivable by burning off the vegetative cover. [ON svithin, pp. of svitha, to burn]. |
thwaite | a piece of reclaimed wasteland (now only in place-names). [ON thveit]. |
thwart | to cross the path of, obstruct. [ON thvert, neuter of thverr. perverse]. |
tushkar tushker tuskar tusker twiscar | a turf-spade. |
valkyr valkyrie walkyrie | in Norse mythology, a chooser of the slain. |
voluspa | in Scott, a sibyl or prophetess, from a misunderstanding of ON Voluspa, the Eddic poem. |
wadmaal wadmal wadmel wadmol wadmoll | a coarse, hairy, woolen cloth, formerly used for garments by the poor. |
wassail | a toast to someone's health; (verb) to go caroling or carousing. [ON ves heill, be in health]. |
yarfa yarpha | in Shetland, peaty soil; clayey, sandy or fibrous peat. [ON jorfi, gravel]. |