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have been considered Scand. loanwords. We have, however, seen that
in the north O.E. _[-a]_ > _[-e]_ just as did O.N. _aei_ (_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. _baeinn_, _baeiskr_, but _hame_, _stane_, _hale_ from O.E.
_h[-a]m_, _st[-a]n_, _h[-a]l_. 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. _aei_
and O.E. _[-a]_ 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. _[-a]_ developed to an _i_-fracture (see
Sec.16.2), while O.N. _aei_ 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. _h[-a]m_, _b[-a]n_, _h[-a]l_, _st[-a]n_ and
not from O.N. _haeim_, _baeinn_, _haeil_, _staeinn_. _Mair_, in spite of
its _e_-vowel, is not from O.N. _maeir_, 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. _staeik_),
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.
_[-a]_ is represented by _ea_ or _eea_, indicating _i_-fracture. For
instance: _heam_, _steean_, _neam_, _geat_, _beeath_, _leath_ (O.N.
_laethi_), _heeal_, _brea_ (O.N. _br[-a])_, _breead_ (O.E. _br[-a]d_,
not O.N. _braei), 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. _blaeikr_.
BLAKEN, _vb._ to turn yellow, N.N. _blaeikna_.
CLAME, _vb._ to adhere, O.N. _klaeima_.
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. _laeika_, cp. O.E. _l[-a]can_.
LAKEING, _sb._ a toy, deriv.
LAVE, _sb._ the remainder, O.N. _laeifr_, cp. O.E. _l[-a]f_.
RATE, _vb._ to bleach, whiten, O.N. _r[-o]yta_. 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. _slaeikja_. O.L.G. _slikken_
does not correspond.
SLAKE, _sb._ a kiss, deriv., cp. O.N. _slaeikr_.
SLAPE, _adj._ slippery, O.N. _slaeipr_, cp. O.E. _slape_.
SLAPEN, _vb._ to make smooth, O.N. _slaeipna_, but possibly
deriv. from _slape_.
SNAPE, _vb._ to restrain, O.N. _snoeypa_.
In addition to these, _blain_, "to become white," is a Scand. loan-
word, but rather from Dan. _blegne_ than Norse _blaeikna_, 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. _skaeif_ in
form, but not in meaning. _Skaeif_ 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.
_doeyfa_, O. Ic. _deyfa_. Swaledale _slaiching_, "sneaking," is the
same as O.N. _slaeikja_, "to lick"; a secondary meaning of O.N.
_slaeikja_ is "to sneak"; _keeal_, "kail," could come from O.N. _kal_
or Gael. _cal_. 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
_sloeysa_, 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 _sloeysa_ is probably not the direct
source of the Eng. dialect word. _Slaister_, however, for _sloeysa_,
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.
_skaeina_, rather than from O.E. _scaenan_. _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. _slaegd_ corresponds perfectly in form but not in meaning. It is,
however, probably from O.E. _slaed_. 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 garethr
lobht loft loft
prine prin prjonn
stop stoup staup
sgeap skep skeppa
sainseal hansell handsal
gaort girt, girth gioereth
cnapp, cneap knap knappr
maol mull muli
sgeir sker sker
scarbh scarth scarfr
gead ged, gedde gedda
scat 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. _garethr_ 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. _pr[-e]on_ from which the Gael.
word may have come. The Sco. word _prin_ does not seem to come from
either O.E. _pr[-e]on_ or O.N. _prjonn_, but from the Gael. _prine_.
There is a Northern dialectic _pr[-e]on_ which may come from O.E.
_pr[-e]on_. 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. _vaeiethr_, for while the spirant _eth_ 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. _veiethr_ with regular change of _eth_ 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 Sec.Sec.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. _bl[-e]at_,
rather than to O.N. _blout_. O.N. _ou_, _au_ is always _ou_
or _oi_ in Sco.
BREID, _sb._ breadth, not Norse _braeidde_ 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 _doed_, 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 Sec.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. Sec.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
_metier_ 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 _rygbaein_.
SOOM, _vb._ to swim. Not Dan. _soemme_, but loss of _w_ before
_oo_, cp. the two Norse forms _svoemma_ 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 _toemme_, "to empty." There is an O.E. _t[-o]m_ 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 Sec.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. _viethr_ 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 Sec.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 Sec.18). Not from O.N.
_joereth_. For _d_ in _yird_ see Sec.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. _aei_, O.E. _[-a]_ as far as
such words can be determined from modern dialects according to
Sec.20.
3. The spirant _th_ corresponding to O.N. _eth_, and O.E. _d_.
4. Consonantal assimilation of _nk_ to _kk_, _mb_ to _bb_, _mp_ to
_pp_, _ethl_ 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. _eth_ excluded, see Sec.Sec.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.
_a grufu_, id. See _grouf_.
AIRT ([)e,]rt), _vb._ urge, incite, force, guide, show. O.N. _erta_,
to taunt, to tease, _erting_, teasing. Norse _erta_, _oerta_,
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. _oellu g[o,]tu_. 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 hrieth_,
"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. _ha-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. _oefugr_) + 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. _agi_). The ending
_some_ is Eng. O.N. _agasamr_, Norse _aggsam_, means
"turbulent, restless."
AYND ([-e]nd), _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. _baeita_, O. Ic. _beita_.
See B-S.
BAITH, BATH (b[-e]th), _pron._ both. M.E. _b[-o]že_, _b[-a]že_, Cu.
_beatth_, Eng. _both_, O.N. _b[-a]ethir_, O. Dan. _b[-a]ethe_.
Skeat.
BAITTENIN, _pr. p._ thriving. Jamieson. O.N. _batna_, Eng. _batten_.
See Skeat, and Kluge and Lutz.
BAITTLE (b[-e]tl), _sb._ a pasture, a lea which has thick sward of
grass. Jamieson, Dumfries. O.N. _baeita_, "to feed," _baeiti_,
pasturage. Cp. Norse _fjellbaeite_, 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. _baenn_ 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. _baeit_, 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.
_baekker_, Norse _bekk_, O. Dan. _baek_. Sw. _baeck_, 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. _baeinn_.
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 (bl[-e]), _adj._ blue, livid. Douglas, III, 130, 30;
Irving, 468. O.N. _bla_, blue, Norse _blaa, blau_, Sw. _bla_,
Dan. _blaa_. Not from O.E. _bl[-e]o_.
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.
_blaeikja_, to bleach, O. Sw. _blekia_, Sw. dial. _bleika_. All
these are causative verbs like the Sco. The inchoative
corresponding to them is _blaeikna_ 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. _blaeikna_, to
become pale, O. Sw. _blekna_, Norse _blaeikna_ id. O.N.
_blaeikr_, pale. Cp. Cu. _blake_, pale, and _bleakken_ with
_i_-fracture. O.E. _bl[-a]c, blaecan_.
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. _blaethra_, to talk
indistinctly, _blaethr_, 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. _blaethr_,
nonsense. Probably the Sco. word used substantively.
BLOME, _sb._ blossom. Bruce, V, 10; Dunbar, I, 12. Same as Eng.
_bloom_ from O.N. _blomi_.
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 _blomi_ 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_: _bl[-e]at_. 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 _boethinn_, _boethja_ (E.D.D.).
BOLAX, _sb._ hatchet. Jamieson. O.N. _boloex_, a poleaxe, Norse
_boloeks_, O. Sw. _boloexe_, _bolyxe_, O. Dan. _buloex_, 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. _buinn_. 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. _bukr_, the trunk, the body, Norse _b[-u]k_, Dan.
_bug_, O. Sw. _buker_. Specific Scand. usage. O.E. _b[-u]c_,
like O.F. _buk_ and Germ. _bauch_, meant "belly."
BOW, _sb._ a fold for cows. Douglas, III, 11, 4. O.N. _bol_, a place
where cows are penned, also den, lair or lying-place of
beasts. Norse _bol_, Shetland _bol_, _bol_, 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. _buinn_. 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,
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