Shetlandic words, help needed

[Dagfinn]

I´m checking the Shetland Dictionary on Shetlopedia.

 

Here are some shetlandic words that I´m trying to figure out:

 

Word 1: ae-beast-tree (n): a swingle-tree by which one horse draws in ploughing

 

My faroese eyes tell me, that the original word must have been "aen-beast-tree" (faroese: ein-rossa-træ) i.e. "one-horse-tree" as opposed to a "two-horse-tree".

Am I right?

 

Word 2: ae-fald: simple, upright, not cunning

 

In faroese we have a word "ein-falt" in the meaning "simple, easy task, etc.". This is opposed to "marg-falt" (english manifold).

I guess the shetlandic ae-fald is orig. "aen-fald" and the same word as the faroese "ein-falt" and opposed to the english "manifold", in the meaning "simple, easy, and simple-person (not so clever)?

 

Word 3: atteal (n)

atteile : the pochard, Turdus marinus

 

Sure the pochard is called Aythya ferina in latin. I don´t find any bird called Turdus marinus on the net.

So the atteal is an Aythya ferina?

[Medziotojas]

As regards your third word, I found this info on the Net.

 

 

http://www.thewonderofbirds.com/dictionary/anisodactyli-ateal.htm

 

Ateal, Atteile or Attile

A word, presumably a bird's name, occurring with variations of spelling in many old Scottish records (as, for example, in 1600, Act. Jac. VI. cap. 23), and apparently used in Orkney for some kind of Duck so lately as 1848 according to Baikie and Heddle (Hist. Nat. Gread. p. 79), who, possibly by mistake, apply it to the Pochard. The same was done in 1886 by Mr. Thomas Edmondston (Etymolog. Glossary of the Shetland and Orkney Dialect) who associated it with the old Norsk Tjaldr, which he called "Turdus marinus," but is properly the Oyster-Catcher. Of unknown etymology, it may be connected with the Scandinavian Atteling-And or Atling, which again may be cognate with Taling, the Dutch for Teal.

[Njugle]

Hope this helps too.

 

http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?plen=2193&startset=977677&dtext=snd&query=ATTEAL

[MuckleJoannie]

I´m checking the Shetland Dictionary on Shetlopedia.

 

Here are some shetlandic words that I´m trying to figure out:

 

Word 1: ae-beast-tree (n): a swingle-tree by which one horse draws in ploughing

 

My faroese eyes tell me, that the original word must have been "aen-beast-tree" (faroese: ein-rossa-træ) i.e. "one-horse-tree" as opposed to a "two-horse-tree".

Am I right?

 

 

Ae is defined in the Concise Scots Dictionary as the numeral one. In Shetland it is often pronounced as "ee". Een is also used for one but the current preference is to say "wan".

 

I would count wan, two, tree, but in Burra, for example, they say een, twa, tree.

[Ghostrider]

^^^ I'm still saying een, twa, tree, fowir, five, sax, seevin an eicht it da Ness, but as I'm said beofre, I'm a dinosaur.

[Njugle]

aefauld:

http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?plen=2472&startset=183836&dtext=snd&query=AEFAULD

[Ghostrider]

"Ae-Baess-Tree" would probably be nearer by my thinking. Literally "One-Beast" possibly derived from the fact cattle were as common, if not more common for ploughing with than horses is some areas. "Tree" is simply a generic term, used loosely for many things made from a wooden pole. ie Gruel-Tree, a stick for stirring porridge. Vaadil-Tree was the term for a footbridge over a stream at the Ness which probably was tidal in certain conditions. The original bridge probably was made from a log or logs washed ashore. Cross-Tree refers to many situations where one wooden pole one way or another crosses another for a specific purpose, or crosses between two other pieces of wood to form a brace or other support. The bracing cross-timbers in roof rafters were as often referred to as Cross-Trees as by their numerous other terms (Cross-backs, Cross-bauks, Craws-bauks etc).

 

"Ae-fald" is literally "one fold", I'd pronounce it "ee-fauld" though. Meaning one layer, what you see is what you get etc etc. I've not heard it used with the specific meaning given, but am familar with in in other contexts with similar meanings, I'd understand what was meant if it was used with that meaning in the appropriate context. For something more complex we'd be more likely to move up in graded steps than simply use something meaning "many-fold" straight away.

 

We'd move next to "twa-fauld" (two fold), meaning it was double, partly hidden and so on, then "twartree-fauld" (two or three fold), meaning a few layers, then to "fauld-upoa-fauld" (fold upon fold) for multiple layers.

[Dagfinn]

Ae is defined in the Concise Scots Dictionary as the numeral one. In Shetland it is often pronounced as "ee". Een is also used for one but the current preference is to say "wan".

 

I would count wan, two, tree, but in Burra, for example, they say een, twa, tree.

Thanks, that confirms my conclusion then.

 

^^^ I'm still saying een, twa, tree, fowir, five, sax, seevin an eicht it da Ness, but as I'm said beofre, I'm a dinosaur.

Dinosaurs are definately more interesting than common people

And liguistically they´ll be even more interesting in the future, as Britain becomes more and more americanized.

 

aefauld:

http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/geten.....ry=AEFAULD

Thanks, that´s a great link, a lot of answers to get there I see.

[Dagfinn]

Two words.

 

Shetland dictionary on Shetopedia:

 

affrug (n): "a spent wave receding from the shore"

 

 

Words, phrases and recollections from Fair Isle, by Jerry Eunson:

 

aff-run (utrug) (n): "Off-shore tide"

 

 

Is this actually the same word?

 

A receding wave is not the same as off-shore tide, is it?

[Rasmie]

A receding wave is not the same as off-shore tide, is it?

 

definitely not the same thing!

 

I tend to call the receding wave a run-aff

[Rasmie]

Ghostrider will be right about he "baess" or baest referring to cattle as the ox was commonly used for ploughing. sometimes een, sometimes twa but now we only have ee tractor.

[Ghostrider]

"Affrug" applies to the temporary state of the sea in a very limited area adjacent to the shore, as the result of the action of one spent wave only as it recedes back from the the shore, regardless of what the tide state is at the time.

 

I'm not familar with the use of "aff-run", we use "run-aff" meaning the overall level of the sea has lowered due to the tide ebbing and/or stormy conditions abating. I assume "aff-run" has a similar meaning. It's equal and opposite it "set-in".

[Marooned in Maywick]

Turdus marinus won't be spotted at Scalloway in the future - it's a dying breed I tells ya!!

 

http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/news_09_2007/Scottish%20Water%20invests%20in%20Scalloway.htm

[Tom]

OED:

 

Atteal: A species of duck of the Orkney and Shetland Isles, identified by some with the Widgeon.

 

1600 Act 16 Jas. VI, xxiii, Termigants, wyld-Dukes, Teilles, Atteilles, Goldings..or any sic kynde of fowlles. 1653 URQUHART Rabelais I. xxxvii, River-fowle, teales and awteales. 1809 A. EDMONDSTON Zetland Isl. II. 255 (Jam.) Anas Ferina, A-teal, Pochard, Great-headed Wigeon. 1813 LOW Fauna Orcad. 145 (Jam.) Another bird of the teal-kind here called Atteal..is very small, brown or dusky above, and a yellowish belly.

 

 

It's actually quite amazing how much dialect is in the Oxford English Dictionary, so long as you can correctly guess the spelling. I assume they copied over one of the dialect dictionaries at some point.

[deardron]

Dagfinn, JJ gives afrog (with closed "o", which must be closer to "u") < ON af-rák 'from-runaway' (I struggle with finding a better translation of this word into English, may be Dagfinn will help). Jakobsen also refers to utrug. So afrun must be just a literal translation of the latter part in afrug.