| Standard English |
Source or present-day associations |
| A B
C D E F
G H I J
K L M N
O P Q R
S T U V
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| bilge (n,vb) |
The protuberant part of the belly of a ship or cask, hence
the verb form 'to bilge' (to fill one's belly). Dan bælge (to swill),
Swed dialect bälga (to fill one's belly). |
| billow (n, vb) |
A wave. Ice byjlga, Swe bölja, Dan bölga. |
| balderdash (n) |
Poor stuff. Scan. Originally meant a poor or weak drink.
Dan balder (noise, clatter) + dask (to slap, flap). Compare with E
slap-dash. |
| bark (n) |
The rind of a tree. Swe and Dan bark, Ice börkr. |
| bat (n) |
winged mammal. Dan bakke corrupted through ME. Ive leðrblaka
(leather-flapper). |
| beach (n, vb) |
Probably Scan XVI century. May be from Swe backe (hill,
slope), O Swe backe (bank of a river), Dan bakke, Ice bakki (bank of a
river, a ridge). |
| bilberry (n) |
The shrub and the fruit of the moorland vaccinium myrtillus
or myrtle. Dan böllebær (bilberry), Ice böllr (ball). Compare with
Yorkshire dialect blaeberry. |
| blemish (n, vb) |
A mark, a fault, an undesirable spot. Fr => Scan =>
ME. Probably associated with E blue. In the E verb form, to spoil
something which was otherwise good. |
| bloater (n) |
A prepared herring. A fish cured by smoke but formerly 'soacked'.
Swe blötfisk (soaked fish). |
| blot (n, vb) |
A spot. Scan => ME blot, blotte. Ice blette (a stain),
Dan plet (spot, stain). |
| bloom (n, vb) |
A flower. Scan. => ME blome. Ice blóm, blómi (a
flower), Swe blomma, Dan blomme. |
| blur (n, vb) |
A stain. Scan. |
| bole (n) |
Scan. See bulge. |
| bolled (adj) |
Scan. See bulge. |
| booth (n) |
A shop, especially of a temporary nature. Scan => ME.
Ice búð, Swe bod, Dan bod. Compare with Irish Gaelic both and boith,
Scots bothy and Welsh bwth (a hut). |
| bore (n) |
A tidal surge on a river, as the Severn Bore. Ice bára (a
billow or wave caused by the wind), Swe dialect bår (a mound - in which
sense it may also be associated with the E bar as in 'sand-bar'). |
| bow (n) |
Front end of a ship or boat. Literally the 'shoulder' of
the vessel. Ice bógr. |
| boulder (n) |
A large stone. Swe dialect bullersteen (a large rolling
stone) allied to Swe bullra (to thunder, to roar) + steen (a stone), so
called from its rolling downstream with a crash. Dan buldre (to roar) and
bulder (a crash). |
| bout (n) |
A turn. Dan bugt (a bend, a turn), associated with the
Anglo-Saxon byht and the E bight. |
| brad (n) |
A spiked tool or nail. Scan => ME brod. Ice broddr (a
spike), Swe brodd, Dan brodde (a frost-nail). Associated with SE bradawl
(spiked tool). Compare with Yorkshire dialect broddle (to poke, pick out,
make holes), brod (a kind of prodder used in making rugs, also verb to
brod), thack-brod (a prodding tool used in thatching), all clearly
associated with SE prod/prodding. |
| brazier (n) |
A pan used to hold hot coals. Fr => Scan. Swe brasa
(fire) allied to brasa (to flame). See braze. |
| breeze (n) |
Cinders. Fr => Scan. In modern SE breeze-blocks are
building blocks made from a congolmerate of cemented cinders. |
| brink (n) |
Verge, edge. Scan => ME brink. Dan brink (verge), Swe
brink (descent, or slope of a hill), Ice brekka (a slope, crest of a
hill). Compare with Welsh bryncu (a hillock), bryn (a hill) and bron
(breast). |
| bubble (n, vb) |
Swe bubbla, Dan boble (a bubble). |
| bole (n) |
Stem of a tree. Scan => ME bol, Ice bolr, bulr (the
trunk of a tree), Swe bål, Dan bul. |
| bulk (n) |
Size. Scan => ME bolke (a heap). Ice búlki (a heap), O
Swe bolk, Dan bulk (a lump). |
| bulwark (n) |
Top edge of a ship's side. Dan bulværk, Swe bolverk.
Compounded of Dan bul (tree, log) and Dan værk (work), literally
'logwork'. |
| bulrush (n) |
Scan and Anglo-Saxon => ME bulrysche. Literally 'stem
rush' from its stout stem. Dan bul (stem, trunk). |
| bun (n) |
A cake or small loaf. Fr => Scan. Ice bunga (a
convexity). Compare with Fr bigne (a swelling or bump). |
| bunk (n) |
A wooden case or box. O Swe bunke (the planking of a ship
forming shelter for the merchandise). Came to mean a box-like bed or
bedspace in a ship in E and has now been extended to single beds which are
one above the other (bunk beds). |
| brunt (n) |
Shock of an onset. Scan => ME brunt (an attack). Ice
bruna (to advance with the speed of fire, as in battle) from Ice bruni
(burning, heat). To 'bear the brunt of something' is used in contemporary
E with the meaning 'to take the main weight (or first shock) of some
occurrence or action'. |
| bush (n) |
Thicket. Scan => ME busch, busk. Dan busk (bush, shrub),
Swe buske (bush, shrub). |
| by-law (n) |
A law affecting a township. Scan, from by (a settlement)
and found mainly as an element in place-names as in Brondby, Hedeby,
Derby, Rugby, Whitby, etc. in the former Danelaw of England and in
Scandinavian countries. |
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| chump (n) |
A log of wood. Ice kumbr. Compare with Yorkshire dialect
chump (firewood) and chumping (collecting wood), both of which are usually
specific to collecting wood for bonfires for Guy Fawkes Night (5th
November). |
| chops (n) |
Jaws. Ice kjaptr, Swe käft and Dan kiæft (jaw). |
| cleft (n) |
The older spelling is clift. Ice kluft, klufu; Swe klyft,
Dan klöft (a cleft, a chink, a cave). |
| clough (n) |
A hollow in a hillside. Allied to Ice klofi (a rift in a
hillside) from klúfa (to cleave). See also cleft. In Yorkshire and other
parts of northern England clough is common as a landscape term, as an
element in place-names and, derived from this, the family/surname Clough.
The E pronunciation in all cases is 'kluf'. |
| clown (n, vb) |
A slap-dash comedy entertainer, a foolish person. From Ice
klunni (a clumsy, boorish fellow). Swe dialect klunn (a log) and kluns (a
clownish fellow), and Dan kluntet (clumsy) are associated. The original
sense was a log. |
| cock (n) |
A pile of hay. Dan kok (a heap), Ice kökkr (lump, ball),
Swe koka (clod of earth). |
| cake (n, vb) |
A baked confectionery. Latin => Scan => ME cake. Ice
kaka, Swe kaka, Dan kage. |
| crab (n) |
A kind of apple. Swe krabbäple (a crab-apple). Perhaps
allied to 'crab' in the sense of 'pinching, sour'. |
| cur (n) |
A dog. Scan => ME curre. Swe dialect kurre (a dog). |
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| dastard (n) |
Scan => ME dastard, where -ard is a Fr suffix. Ice dæstr
(exhausted, weary). The original sense of the word is sluggard. |
dapple, dappled
(n, vb, adj) |
A spot on an animal is the earlier meaning, though it has
been extended to describe an area of irregular shadow, as in 'a dappled
orchard'. Ice depill (a spot or dot; adog woth spots over its eyes is also
called a depill). The original sense is 'a little pool' from Nor dapi (a
pool), allied to the Dan dialect duppa (a hole where water collects), and
Swe dial depp (a pool). |
| dimple (n) |
A small hollow. Nasalised form of Nor depil, dipil (a pool
- in which sense see also dapple). |
| dingle (n) |
Formerly dimble, a variant of dimple (see above). |
| dairy (n) |
Scan => ME deyerye (a room for a deye, i.e., a
milk-woman or farm servant). Ice deigja, Swe deja (a maid, dairymaid who
was also a bread-maker. The original sense is 'kneader of dough'). |
| dirt (n) |
Scan => ME drit. Ice drit (dirt, bird excrement) and
drita (to void excrement). |
| dormouse (n) |
A small rodent. Scan and Anglo-Saxon. Literally, a 'doze
mouse' => ME dormous. Ice dór (benumbed, very sleepy). Compare with
the Fr verb dormer (to sleep). |
| down (n) |
Soft plumage. Scan => ME down. Ice dúnn, Swe dun, Dan
duun. |
| dregs (n) |
Lees, residue which is left, especially in a liquid such as
tea. Scan => ME dreg (mire). Ice dregg, draga (to draw, extract). |
| dug (n) |
A teat. Allied to Swe dägga, Dan dægge (to suckle). |
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| egg (n) |
The oval body from which chickens are hatched. Scan =>
ME eg, egges. Ice egg, Dan æg, Swe ägg. |
| firth (n) |
An estuary. Scan => ME firth. Ice fjörðr (a bay or
inlet), Dan fiord, Swe fjärd, Nor fjord. More commonly used in Scotland
than in England or Wales as a landscape term and feature name. |
| flag (n, vb) |
An ensign. Dan flag, Swe flagg. From the Ice flögra (to
flutter). |
| flake (n, vb) |
A thin slice. Nor flak (a slice, an ice-floe), Ice flakna,
flagna (to flake off), Swe flaga (a flake). |
| flag (n) |
A paving stone. Ice flaga (a slab of stone). A common term
in the north of England for pavements. |
| flaw (n) |
A crack or blemish. Scan => ME flawe. Swe flaga (a
crack, a flaw, a flake - in which sense see flake above). |
| floe (n) |
As in ice-floe. Dan flage and see flake above. Literally,
'a flake of ice'. |
| filly (n) |
A female foal. Ice fylja (a filly) from foli (a foal), Dan
föl, Swe föll. |
| fog (n, vb) |
Dan fog, as in snee-fog (a blinding fall of snow); fyge (to
drift as snow). |
| fetlock (n) |
Scan. Originally the 'lock' or tuft of hair behind a
horse's pastern joint. The syllable -lock = Ice lokkr; fet- is allied to
Ice fet (a pace, a step). |
| freckle (n) |
A small spot of skin colouring. Ice freknur, Swe fräkne,
Dan fregne (a freckle). |
| froth (n, vb) |
Foam on liquids. Scan => ME frothe. Ice froða, Dan
fraade, Swe fradga. |
| fry (n) |
Spawn of fishes. Scan => ME fri. Ice fræ, frjó,
Dan/Swe frö. |
| furlough (n) |
Leave of absence. A term used more in North American
English than British English. Du => Scan => E. Borrowed from Dan
forlov and Swe förlof (leave). |
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| gain (n) |
Profit, earnings. Scan => ME gain. Ice gagn (gain,
advantage), Swe gagn, Dan gavn. See also gain (vb). |
| gait (n) |
Scan. A peculiar use of the ME gate (a way). |
| gale (n) |
Dan gal (furious). Compare with Nor 'en gal mann' (a
furious/insane man). Ice galinn (furious) from gala (to enchant, in the
belief that storms were raised by witches). |
| gap (n) |
Scan => ME gappe. Ice and Swe gap (a gap, an abyss). |
| gate (n) |
A street, a way. Ice gata, Swe gata, Dan gade. Compare with
German gasse (a street) derived from Old High German kezzan (to get (to)).
Found almost exclusively as an element in street names in settlements
within the former Danelaw of England (especially Lincolnshire and the
northern counties), in parts of Scotland and in Scandinavian towns (e.g.
Kirkgate = church street, Eastgate = the east way). |
| gig (n) |
A light carriage, a light boat. Ice geiga (to take a wrong
direction, to rove at random). Allied to jig. |
| gill (1) (n) |
Organ of respiration of fishes. Scan => ME gille. Swe gäl
(a gill), Ice gjölnar. Allied to SE yawn. |
| gill (2) (n) |
A ravine, a chasm. Ice gill, geil (ravine). Mainly in use
in Yorkshire and the north-west counties of England, usually in the form
ghyll, descriptive of the landscape feature itself or an element in the
name of such a place. |
| girth (n) |
A measurement around something, such as a body or a tree
trunk. Scan => ME gerth. Ice gjörð (a girdle, girth), geð (a
measurement around the waist). |
| glade (n) |
Open space in a wood. Scan. The original sense was an
opening for light, a passage through a wood. Ice glaðr (bright, shining),
Nor glette (a clear spot amongst the clouds). |
| glimpse (n, vb) |
A slight gleam, a brief sighting. Scan => ME glimsen (to
glimpse). |
| gloss (n, vb) |
Lustre. Ice glossi (a blaze), glys (finery), Swe dialect
glossa (to glow) extended from Swe dialect gloa and Ice glóa (to glow,
shine). |
| gang (n, vb) |
A crew of persons. Scan. Ice gangr (a going) and gangr (to
go); also a gang as in þjófagangr (a gang of thieves). |
| gravy (n) |
Scan. Formerly greavy, originally an adjective formed from
greave (refuse of tallow, melted candlewax), hence gravy is 'tallowy' or
fatty. |
| greyhound (n) |
Scan => ME greihound. Ice greyhundr (a greyhound) made
up of Ice grey (a dog) and hundrr (hound). Not allied to the colour grey
which in Ice is grár. |
| grime (n) |
A smut or dirt on the face. Swe grima (a smut on the face),
Dan grim griim (lampblack, soot, grime), Ice grima (a disguise). Allied to
SE grimace though grime has now been extended to anything covered in dirt. |
| groin (n) |
The fork of the body where the legs divide. Ice grein (a
branch, an arm), Dan gren, Swe gren (branch, arm, fork). Compare with
Yorkshire dialect grain (a branch or fork of a tree, the branching of a
stream, the prongs of a fork). |
| geysir (n) |
Literally gusher. Ice geysir, allied to gjósa. This became
in English a generic term for a small, gas-fired water heater suspended
above a kitchen sink. |
| gust (n, vb) |
A blast. See gush. |
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| hank (n) |
A parcel of skeins of yarn. Ice hanki (a hasp, clasp), hönk,
hangr (a hank or coil), Swe hank (a string). |
| hinge (n, vb) |
Scan => ME henge (that on which a door hangs). Ice
hengje (to hang). |
| haste (n) (n, vb) |
O Swe hasta and Dan haste (to hasten). |
| hawse (n) |
As in hawse-hole (a round hole through which a ship's cable
passes, so called because it is made in the 'neck' of the ship). Ice háls,
hals (the neck). |
| haze (n, vb) |
A mist. Scan ? Perhaps from Ice höss (grey, dusky). |
| how (n) |
A hill. Scan => ME hogh. Ice haugr (a hill), Swe hög (a
mound), Dan höi (a hill). Found mainly in place-names in England, as in
Greenhow - and sometimes with a variation as in Buckhaugh, etc. |
| hue (n) |
Clamour, outcry, as in 'hue and cry'. Possibly Fr =>
Scan => ME. O Swe (see hoot, above). |
| husband (n, vb) |
Ice húsbóndi (the master of the house). |
| hussif (n) |
A case for needles and thread etc. Scan. The final /f/ is
due to confusion with housewife. Ice húsi (a case). |
| hustings (n) |
The modern use is incorrect. It is properly the singular
husting and means a council, an assembly for the choice of a candidate.
Ice húsþing (a council meeting) from hús (house) + þing (an assembly). |
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| jam (2) (n, vb) |
A conserve of fruit. Scan. A soft substance like that which
is chewed (see jam (1)). |
| jaunt (n, vb) |
A rambling or playing around. Swe dialect ganta (to play
the buffoon, to sport, to jest), Ice gan (frantic gestures). |
| jib (2) |
Dan. The foremost sail in a ship, so-called because it is
easily shifted from side to side (see jib (1)). |
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| keg (n) |
A small barrel or cask. Ice kaggi (a keg), Swe kagga, Nor
kagge (a keg, a round mass). |
| kid (n, vb) |
A young goat. Dan and Swe kid, Ice kið. Allied to chit,
child in E. |
| kidney (n) |
Scan. Corruption of the ME kidnere, kidneer. Ice kviðr
(womb), Swe qved (womb) anotomically inappropriately combined with Ice nýra,
Dan nyre, Swe njure (a kidney). |
| kilt (n) |
Scan. From kilt (to truss up), Dan kilte (to truss, tuck
up), Swe dialect kilta (to swaddle). Compare with Ice kjalta (lap). |
| kink (n, vb) |
A twist in a rope. Swe Swe and Nor kink (a twist in a
rope), allied to Nor kika, kinka (to writhe) and Ice kikna (to sink at the
knees under a burden) and Ice keikr (a bent back), all in the sense of
something bent or twisted. Compare with Yorkshire dialect verb 'to kink',
i.e., when a child's body goes into spasm through holding the breath as in
whooping cough (which is called kincough in Yorkshire), with the back
arched or bent. |
| kirk (n) |
Church. Scan but borrowed from the Anglo-Saxon cirice,
circe (a church), then coming back into The Danelaw and Scotland from the
Scandinavian. |
| kirtle (n) |
A sort of gown, also a petticoat. Ice kyrtill, Dan kiortel.
Probably a diminutive of skirt (Ice skyrta, Dan skiorte, Swe skjorta [a
shirt, a skirt]). Compare with Yorkshire dialect kytle (working coat of
coarse linen, worn by Yorkshire Dales leadminers and farmers). |
| knacker (n, vb) |
A dealer in old horses and other livestock. Scan. It
formerly meant a saddler and harness maker. Ice knakkr (saddle). Now used
as a verb in colloquial E to indicate anything spoilt or ruined or
tired-out (knackered). |
| knout (n) |
A scourge, thick whip. Russian and Scan. Ice knútr (a
knot). |
| knowledge (n) |
E with Scan suffix. The suffix -leche is a weakened form of
-leke, answering to Ice leikr, -leiki, Swe -lek, a suffix used for forming
abstract nouns as in Swe kär-lek (love). |
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| lathe (n) |
A machine for turning metal and wood to create round
shapes. Ice löð. |
| lee (n) |
Sheltered place; part of a ship away from the wind. Ice hlé
(lee of a ship), Dan læ, Swe lä. |
| leech, leach (n) |
The border or edge at the sides of a sail. Ice lík (a
leech-line), Swe lik, Dan lig (a bolt rope). |
| leg (n) |
Ice leggr (a leg), Dan læg, Swe lägg (the calf of the
leg). |
| ledge (n, vb) |
A slight shelf, a ridge. Scan. Allied to Swe lagg (the rim
of a cask), Ice lögg (the ledge or rim at the bottom of a cask), Nor logg
(the lowest part of a vessel), all from Ice liggja, Swe ligg, Dan ligga
(to lie - in the sense of 'to support'). |
| log (1) (n) |
A block or piece of wood. Ice lág (a felled tree, a log),
Swe dialect låga (a felled tree, a tree that has blown down). |
| log (2) (n, vb) |
A piece of wood with a line for measuring the rate of a
ship. Swe logg (as a sea term) hence log-lina (a log-line), log-bok (log
book), Dan log, log-line, log-bog, logge. As the verb 'to log' it has come
to be used in SE for the recording of any sequence of events. |
| logger-head, loggerhead (n) |
A dunce; a piece of timber in a whaleboat over which is
passed a line to make it run more slowly through friction. Scan. A similar
formation to 'blockhead'. |
| loft (n, vb) |
An upper room, an attic. Properly 'air'. Ice lopt, loft,
luft (air, sky, an upper room). Dan and Swe loft (a garret). Used also in
SE as a verb : 'to loft' (to cast something into the air) with the
adjectival form lofty to indicate something 'reaching upwards towards the
sky', i.e., high. |
| lugsail (n) |
A sort of square sail. Scan. Probably from the verb lug
(see lug (vb)), the sail being easily hoisted by a pull on a rope. |
| lump (n, vb) |
Swe dialect and Nor lump (a block, stump, piece hewn off a
log). Used in SE also as a verb as in 'to lump everything together'. |
| lunch (n, vb) |
A large piece of bread, etc. Scan. Now used as short for
luncheon (a light meal). As a verb, 'to lunch' is to take a luncheon meal. |
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| maze (n) |
Confusing place, a puzzle. Compare Nor masa-st, where -st
is reflexive (to lose one's senses and begin to dream) and masa (to pore
over a thing,also to chatter), Ice masa (to chatter). Associated with the
SE amaze (to astound, to bewilder, to perplex). |
| mazer (n) |
A large drinking bowl. Scan. Ice mössur (a maple tree)
whence mössur-bolli (a bowl truned from maple wood). |
| mess (n, vb) |
A mixture or disorder. E or Scan. A corruption of the older
form mesh, which again stands for mash (see mash). The verb form 'to mess'
means to interfere with, play around with unconstructively. |
| mire (n) |
Deep mud. Ice mýrr, Swe myra, Dan myre, myr (a bog) |
| mishap (n) |
Scan => ME mishappen (to fall out ill). |
| mistake (n, vb) |
An error, to err. Ice mistaka (to take by error, make a
slip). |
| muck (n, vb) |
Filth, dirt. Ice myki (dung), Dan mög (dung). Dialectal in
E but has now passed into SE usage. The verb form 'to muck (about)' means
to behave irresponsible, to mess with things; the associated adjective is
mucky. |
| muff (n) |
A warm, soft cover for the hands. O Swe muff, Dan muffe (a
muff). Oldest sense is 'a sleeve'. |
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| oaf (n) |
A simpleton, fool. Ice ålfr (an elf). |
| outlaw (n, vb) |
A villain, a criminal. Ice útlági (out of or beyond the
law). The SE verb 'to outlaw…something or someone' means to declare it
or them outside the law. In the original sense this meant that an outlawed
person could expect no protection from the law and could therefore be
harmed with impunity by anyone. |
| outrigger (n) |
E and Scan. A projecting spar for extending sails or
positioning rowlocks on a ship or boat. |
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| pap (n) |
A teat, a breast. O Swe papp (the breast), changed in
modern Swe to patt. Also Swe dialect pappe. Associated with E pap (an
infant's soft food). |
| peg (n, vb) |
A wooden pin. Dan pig (spike). Probably ultimately of Latin
origin. The SE verb 'to peg…something' means to fix it in place, to hold
things at an existing level as in 'pegged the interest rate at…..'. |
| plough (n, vb) |
Ice plógr (a plough), Dan plov, Swe plog. But all these
may be borrowed from the Celtic ploc (block of wood or stump of a tree,
hence a primitive plough). |
| pod (n) |
A husk. Originally a leather bottle or flask, a bag. Swe
dialect pude (a cushion), Dan pude (a cushion). Associated with SE pad; a
pad is a stuffed bag, i.e., a cushion. |
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| quandary (n) |
An evil plight. Ice vandræði (difficulty, trouble), O Swe
wandräde (difficulty). |
| raft (n) |
The original sense is rafter. Ice raptr, raftr (a rafter, a
beam), extended from Ice ráfr, ræfr (a spar, a rafter). |
| rake (n) |
A dissolute man. Swe dialect rakkel (a vagabond) from raka
(to run hastily), O Swe racka (to run about). Compare also Ice reikall
(vagabond) from reika (to wander). |
| rake (n) |
The projection of the extremities of a ship beyond the
keel; also, the inclination of a mast from the perpendicular. Swe dialect
raka (to reach), Dan rage (to project). Compare Yorkshire dialect reckan
(a projecting iron bar for hanging cooking vessels over the fire). |
| rigmarole (n) |
Scan and Fr-Latin. A corruption of ragman-roll, originally
meaning a deed with many signatures, a long list of names, and hence a
long, stupid story. Literally 'a cowards' roll'. Ice ragmenni (a coward) +
roll (list). |
| rowan tree/roan tree (n) |
Mountain ash. O Swe runn, rönn (roan tree), Swe rön, Dan
rönn, Ice reynir. |
| roe (n) |
Spawn, fish eggs. Ice hrogn, Dan rogn, Swe rom. |
| rug (n) |
Swe rugg (rough entangled hair). |
| row (n, vb) |
An uproar. Scan. From rouse, with loss of final /s/. |
| ruck (n, vb) |
A fold, crease. Ice hrukka (a wrinkle), Dan rynke and Swe
rynka (a wrinkle). In the SE verb form 'to ruck…something up' is to
cause it to fold or crease. |
| rump (n) |
Ice rumpr, Swe rumpa, Dan rumpe. Originally meant the bulk
of the body without the head but now in SE indicates the buttocks, the
'rear-end' of a person. |
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| sale (n) |
Ice sala (a sale, a bargain), Swe salu, Dan salg. In the
original sense meant delivery or 'handing over'. |
| scoop (n, vb) |
Swe skopa (a scoop or hollow shovel). |
| shrike (n) |
The butcher bird. Ice skríkja (literally 'a shrieker').
Allied to Ice skrækja and SE shriek. Compare with Yorkshire dialect
skrike (to screech or scream). |
| shoal(s) (n, vb) |
Shallows, a sandbank. Originally an adjective meaning
shallow. Ice skálgr. The verb form 'to shoal' is still in use in SE
meaning 'to become shallow(er)'. |
| scrap (n, vb) |
Ice skrap (scraps, trifles - literally 'scrapings'), Ice
skrapa (to scrape). |
| scar, scaur (n) |
A rock; a bare rock face. Ice sker (a skerry, an isolated
rock), Dan skiær, Swe skär, so called because cut off from the main
land. In E more likely to refer to a cliff-like bare rock feature,
especially dialectally in Yorkshire and the north-west of England where it
used generically in the 'rock outcrop' sense and as a feature or
place-name as in White Scar, Ravenscar, etc. |
| shirt (n) |
Ice skyrta (a shirt, a kind of kirtle - see above), Swe
skjorta, Dan skiorte. So called because of its shortness - Ice skortr
(shortness). See also skirt below. |
| shore, shoar (n, vb) |
A prop, as in 'to shore up'. Ice skorða (a propr or stay,
particularly under a boat), Nor skorda, skora (prop), Swe dialect skåre
(a piece of cut wood), so-called because shorn, or cut off of, a suitable
length and therefore probably associated with Ice skor-inn, skera (to
shear). |
| skirt (n) |
Ice skyrta (a shirt, kind of kirtle - see shirt above). A
doublet of shirt but restricted to the lower part of the garment. |
| skid (n, vb) |
Originally a thin slip of wood to put under a wheel. Swe
skid (a wooden shoe or sole), Ice skíð (a billet of wood). In modern SE
usage a skid is an uncontrollable slide, with skidding as the verb form. |
| shiver (n) |
A splinter, a small piece of wood. Shiver is the diminutive
of shive (a thin slice). Ice skífa (a slice). Compare with Yorkshire
dialect (to split, to pare - especially of leather) and the E slang shiv
(a knife). |
| skewer (n, vb) |
Scan. Formerly skiver, the old form of shiver (above),
i.e., a splint or wooden pin. |
| skittle (n, vb) |
Wooden pin used in the game of skittles where they are
knocked down by a rolled ball. Dan skyttel (a shuttle), Ice skuttill (a
projectile, harpoon, bolt of a door). Compare Ice base-word skut (to
shoot). The shuttle association may be because the pins, once knocked
down, are restored their original position, as the shuttle on a loom
returns after each pass. Compare the Yorkshire dialect upshill, upskittle
(to overturn, to tilt up). As a verb in E it means to upset something or
thwart someone. |
| shingle (n) |
Coarse, round gravel on the sea-shore. Corruption of Nor
singl or singling (coarse gravel). Named from the crunching or ringing
noise made by walking on it - Nor singla (to ring, tinkle), Swe dialect
singla. Associated with Swe dialect singa, the same as the SE word sing. |
| silt (n) |
Swe sila (to drain, strain, filter) and sil (a filter).
Compare with Ice sía, Dan sie and Anglo-Saxon síhan (to filter). |
| siskin (n) |
A songbird. Dan sisgen, Swe siska. It means 'chirper'.
Compare with Swe dial sisa (to make a noise like a wood-grouse). |
| sister (n) |
Ice systir, Swe syster, Dan söster. |
| seat (n) |
Ice sæti (a seat), Swe säte, Dan sæde. |
| skate (n) |
Large flat fish. Ice skata, Nor skata. |
| skill (n) |
Discernment, in the sense of making judgements. Ice skil (a
distinction); compare with Ice skilja (to part, to separate, to
distinguish), Dan skiel and Swe skäl (reason). Compare with Dan skille,
Swe skilja (to separate). |
| skull (n) |
The cranium. Named for its bowl-like shape. Ice skál, Dan
skaal, Swe skål (bowl, basin). See the legend of Wayland the Smith where
skulls are made into drinking bowls. |
| scull (n, vb) |
A small, light oar. 'To scull' is to row. Named from the
slightly hollowed blades like the dishes of, for example, a weighing
machine or balance. Ice skál (hollow - see skull above), Swe skålig
(concave). |
| skin (n, vb) |
Ice skinn, Swe skinn, Dan skind. As a verb, 'to
skin…something' is to remove the skin. |
| sky (n) |
Ice ský (a cloud), Dan and Swe sky (a cloud). Allied to
the Anglo-Saxon scúa (shade). |
| slag (n) |
Dross. Swe slagg (dross of metal), so calloed from flowing
over when fused. Compare Ice slagna (to flow over) and slag, slagi (wet,
damp). |
| slattern (n) |
An untidy woman. From the meaning 'to be untidy', 'to throw
about'. Ice sletta (to slap, to dash liquids about), Nor sletta (to fling
or jerk about). |
| sleet (n) |
So named from dashing in one's face. See slattern above
with Ice and Nor sletta. Compare with Yorkshire dialect slart, slaht (to
splash, splatter with mud etc., to spill or dribble liquid) and slatter
(to spill, splash, slop). |
| sleight (n) |
Dexterity, as in 'sleight of hand'. Ice slægr (sly), Swe
slögd (dexterity). Associated with the SE sly. |
| sledge (n, vb) |
Corrupt form of sled. Scan. |
| sleigh (n, vb) |
Nor slee (short for slede). Se sledge/sled above. |
| slang (n) |
Vulgar language. Nor sleng (a slinging, a device). All
forms from Ice slöng, slengja (to sling, to throw about). |
| slop (n) |
A loose garment. Ice sloppr (a long, loose gown), Ice
sleppa (to slip), so named from the garment trailing on the ground.
Compare Dan slæb (to trail), modern SE sloppy (loose, slipshod), SE
'slopping about' (acting in a lazy, unpurposeful manner); also Yorkshire
dialect slob (loose-fitting, especially of shoes) and slop (a
loose-fitting smock), slops (trousers). |
| smudge (n, vb) |
Dan smuds (smut, dirt). The verb form 'to smudge' means to
smear, as in 'the ink was smudged'. Allied to smut, below. |
| smut (n) |
A spot of dirt or soot. Dan smudse and Swe smutsa (to
soil). See smudge, above. |
| snipe (n) |
A bird. Ice snípa (a snipe), Dan sneppe (a snipe), Swe snäppa
(a sand-piper). |
| snout (n) |
Swe snut (snout, muzzle), Dan snude. |
| squib (n) |
A paper tube with combustibles or pyrotechnic explosives; a
small firework. Ice svipa (to flash, to dart), Nor svipa (to run swiftly).
Allied to SE adjective swift. |
| stith (n) |
An anvil. Ice steði (an anvil), allied to staðr (a fixed
place), named for its firmness or steadiness and thus allied to the SE
steady. Swe städ (an anvil). Compare with Yorkshire dialect stithy (an
anvil). |
| stilt (n) |
Swe stylta, Dan stylte (to walk on stilts). |
| stang (n) |
A pole, a stake. Ice stöng, Swe stång, Dan stang (a pole,
a stake). Compare with Yorkshire dialect biggerstang (a builders' scaffold
pole: bigger from the Scan bygga [to build] + stang) and the Yorkshire
folk custom of 'Riding the Stang' where a person to be upheld for public
ridicule (especially for wife-beating) was placed astride a pole and
carried around to the accompaniment of whistles and jeers. |
| stump (n, vb) |
Ice stumpr, Swe and Dan stump (stump end, a bit). In
cricket, the wooden stakes used as wickets are also known as stumps. In
the E verb form, 'to be stumped' can be a way of being given out in
cricket and can also mean 'to be puzzled or at a loss'. |
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| tackle (n, vb) |
Equipment, gear, tools. O Swe and Swe tackel (tackle of a
ship), Dan takkel (tackle), whence takle (to rig, as a ship). Associated
with Ice taka (to grasp, seize). The E verb form 'to tackle…something'
is to set about a task, to get on with a job. |
| tarn (n) |
A pool, especially a mountain lake. Ice tjörn (a pool),
Swe dialect tjärn, tärn (a pool without an outlet). Found in E almost
solely in Yorkshire and other parts of northern England and generally as
part of a feature name, e.g., Malham Tarn. |
| tatter (n) |
A shred. Ice tötur (rags, tatters), Nor totror, tottrur.
In SE, used most often in the plural form tatters. |
| tern (n) |
A seabird. Dan terne, tærne, Swe tärna, Ice þerna (a
tern). |
| thrall (n) |
A slave. Old Northumbrian ðræl borrowed from Old Norse,
Ice þræll (a thrall, a slave), Dan træl, Swe träl. In modern SE the
verb 'to be in thrall to…someone' is to be obliged to them or under
their influence; the SE enthralled (spellbound, fixed upon) is no doubt
from the same source. |
| thrave (n) |
An archaic term for a number of sheaves of wheat. Scan
=> ME þraue, þreue (thrave, threve). Ice þrefi (a thrave), Dan trave
(a score of sheaves, i.e. twenty), Swe trafve (a pile of wood). Originally
'a handful' or 'an armful'. All related to Ice þrífa (to seize, grasp). |
| thrift (n) |
Frugality. Ice þrift (thrift), Nor trivelse (prosperity). |
| thrum (n) |
The end of a weaver's thread. Ice þrömr (edge, verge),
Nor tröm, tram, trumm (edge, brim), Swe dialect trumm, tröm (a stump,
the end of a log). In the textile areas of Yorkshire the term is
considered dialectal and used specifically for the ends cut from the warp
yarn to tidy up the edges of the cloth while still on the loom, hence the
dialect word thrummly (awkward, untidy, muddled). |
| thrust (n, vb) |
Ice þrýsta (to thrust, press, compel). Allied to the SE
threat/threaten. Probably more in use in SE nowadays as a verb 'to
thrust', with the noun applied more as a technical term as in 'the thrust
of the jet engine'. |
| Thursday (n) |
Day of the week. E but confused with Scan. Thur is a
corruption of ME thuner (thunder) ny confusion with Thor, which had the
same sense. ME þurs-day, from Anglo-Saxon þunres + dæg (thunder + day). |
| thwart (n, vb) |
Transverseley, transverse. Ice þvert (adverse), Dan tvær
(transverse), Swe tvär (across). As a noun in E it is used mainly of
transverse panels across a ship or boat, including seats, with the
associated maritime term 'athwart' standing for 'across'. In its original
maritime usage it probably indicated a part of a ship's architecture which
prevented (thwarted) the ingress of water or the movement of cargo. The SE
verb 'to thwart…something' means to prevent something happening or put
some obstacle in the way, as in 'they thwarted his plan to become
president'. |
| tidings (n) |
Scan => ME tidinde, tidinge. Ice tiðindi (tidings,
news). Originally 'things that happen'. Dan tidende. |
| tike (n) |
A dog; a low, untrustworthy fellow. Scan => ME tike. Ice
tík, Swe tik (a bitch). Compare with the folk generic term for a
Yorkshire person, Tyke, a derogatory appellation which may first have been
applied to the population of the Viking Kingdom of York when it was a
distinct political entity from the rest of England. |
| tit (n) |
Originally something small, as a horse or a child. Ice
tittr (a tit, a bird), Nor tita (a little bird). Now used in E as an
element in the names of small bird, e.g., bluetit, coaltit, etc. See
titmouse. |
| titmouse (n) |
A small bird. Scan and Anglo-Saxon. Not connected with
mouse and the proper plural is titmouses, though titmice is used in
confusion with mice. A compound of tit (a small thing) and Anglo-Saxon máse
(a name for several varieties of small bird). |
| tit for tat |
Blow for blow. Scan. A corruption of 'tip for tap', where
tip is a light tap. Now used in E in the sense of repaying in kind or
getting even. |
| toft, tuft (n) |
A plantation, a green knoll. Ice topt (pronounced toft),
also tupt, toft, tomt (a knoll, clearing, cleared space). Found in E in
the term 'croft and toft' (a cottage and a small holding of land attached
to it) and in Danelaw place-names such as Willitoft, Altofts, etc. Compare
Scandinavian place-names such as Ebeltoft (Denmark). |
| tram (n) |
A coal-waggon, a cart on rails, a light-railway form of
public transport. Scan. Swe dialect tromm (log, stock of a tree; also a
summer sledge), O Swe tråm, trum (piece of a cut tree). Original sense is
a beam or shaft, then a shaft of a cart. The tram-road was probably
originally a log-road, later becoming a rail-road on sleepers. |
| trash (n, vb) |
Refuse, garbage. Scan. The original sense was bits of
broken sticks found under trees. Ice tros (rubbish, twigs used for fuel),
Nor tros (fallen twigs, half-rotten branches), Swe trasa (a rag, tatters),
Swe dialect trås (a heap of sticks - derived from Swe dialect slå i tras
(to break in pieces). |
| trist, tryst (n) |
An appointment to meet. Scan. Properly, a pledge. From
traust (see trust). |
| tungsten (n) |
A heavy metal. Swe tungsten (heavy stone), Ice þungr
(heavy). |
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| Valhalla (n) |
The hall of the slain. Ice valhöll (the hall of the
slain). |
| Viking (n) |
A northern pirate. Ice víkingr (a pirate, freebooter,
rover). Thought to mean literally 'a creek dweller' from vik (a creek, an
inlet). |
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| wad (n) |
A small bundle of stuff, little mass of tow or textile
waste. Swe vadd (wadding), O Swe wad (clothing, stuff, textiles), Ice vaðmal
(a plain woollen stuff). Allied in E to the noun weed. |
| waif (n) |
A thing abandoned, a thing found astray. Fr => Scan
=> ME waif, weif. Ice veif (anything moving or flapping about -
applied, e.g., to the fin of a seal) from veifa (to move about). |
| wake (n) |
The track of a ship. The proper sense is an opening in the
ice. Ice vak (stem of vök - a hole, opening in the ice), Swe vak, Nor
vok, hence Nor vekkja and Dan vaage (to cut a passage for ships through
the ice). The original sense was 'wet place' from Ice vökr (wet). Compare
with Lowland Scots wak (wet) and Du wak (moist). |
| walrus (n) |
A large member of the seal family. Du => Scan. Swe
vallross, Dan hvalros (literally, a 'whale horse'). Said to be named from
the neighing sound of the animal. |
| want (n) |
Lack, deficiency. Scan => ME want. First used as an
adjective signifying 'deficient'. Compare with Yorkshire dialect usage of
a verb form in, for instance, 'the grass wants cutting', where 'want'
stands for 'needs' or 'requires', whereas the SE would be 'the grass needs
(or requires) cutting'. |
| wapentake (n) |
An administrative district in parts of Scandinavian
England; a Viking subdivision of the former Ridings (þriðjungr) of
Yorkshire, similar in form and function to the 'hundreds' of Saxon
England. Scan => ME, borrowed from Ice vápnatak (literally, a 'weapon
touching', hence a vote of consent so expressed). |
| welcome (vb, n, adj) |
Ice velkommin (welcome, in greeting), Dan vel-kommen, Swe väl-kommen.
Similar forms throughout the Germanic languages. |
| wherry (n) |
A shallow, light boat. Ice hverfr (shifty, crank - siad of
a ship), Nor kverv (unsteady, quick - said of a boat). |
| whim (n) |
A freak. Ice hvima (to wander with the eyes, as of a silly
person), Nor kvima (to whisk about, to trifle). Compare Swe dialect
hvimmerkantig (giddy in the head) allied to Nor kvimsa, Swe dialect
hvimsa, Dan vimse (To be giddy, to skip about). In modern SE the meaning
is a sudden desire or notion to do something without a great deal of
thought, as in 'she did it on a whim'. |
| whitlow (n) |
Painful swelling on the finger. Corruption of whickflaw,
where wick is the northern E pronunciation of quick (i.e., the sensitive
part of the finger around the nail). Ice kvika. Flaw is the Swe flaga (a
flaw, a crack). The sense is 'a crack near the quick', hence a painful
sore. |
| whore (n) |
A prostitute. The /w/ is unoriginal. Scan => ME hore.
Ice hóra (an adultress), feminine of hórr (an adulterer), Dan hore, Swe
hora. |
| wicket (n) |
A small gate. Fr => Scan => ME wiket. The wicket used
in cricket was, at first, a small gate. |
| window (n) |
Original sense is 'wind-eye'. Ice vindauga (a window) from
Ice vindr (wind) + auga (eye). |
| wand (n) |
A slender rod. Scan => ME wand. Ice vöndr (a switch), O
Swe wand, Dan vaand (originally a pliant stick). |
