A.
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a’ [â], adj., is the L.Sc. form of Eng. all, but is sometimes used in Shetl. in a sense diff. from Eng. (and L.Sc.) and answering to the O.N. allr; e.g.: hit [‘it’] is a’, it is finished; at an end; de tale or story is a’, the story is ended, complete. Cf. O.N. allr in sense of ended; finished; complete; Fær. sögan er öll, the tale is ended. — for a’, beyond recall; for good, = No. fyre ollu, Sw. dial. för allo, Fær. fyri alla; he’s gane [‘gone’] for a’. — a’-fe(r)-jens, just this minute, see *fer, prep. — O.N. all- is found in Shetl. in the compd. almark and the neuter-form “alt” in *altasenn. a-, prep., on, upon; O.N. á, for *o- in avunavara, q.v. Cf. o- in ovi. Obs. as an independent word. aba-knot, aber-knot, sb., see under aber, adj. 5. abadous, adj., see ubadous. abder, sb., see obder. aber [ābər], adj., 1) sharp; keen, e.g. of the edge of a cutting tool, esp. a knife, a a. edge, a a. knife; Wests., Nmw. 2) with sharp outlines; clear and distinct; de land is very a. de day [‘to-day’], the land is very clear and distinct to-day (seen far off or from a distance); a a. sky, a sky with clouds which are in sharp contrast to the deep-blue in between, or: a clear deep-blue sky which is becoming overcast (harbinger of wind); Un; Cf. ampel, amper, adj. 3) sharpsighted; keenly observant; watchful; vigilant; Nmw. (Esh.). |
4) very bent on getting something; keenly desirous of something; greedy; a. aboot [‘about’] or for a thing; N.I., de fish is a., the fish is swallowing the bait greedily (Nm., De.). “de a. heart-cake”, a medicament acc. to old superstitious belief; “heart-cake” (molten lead, poured into water) as a cure for excessive appetite in a child; a vessel with water, containing the molten lead in the shape of a heart, was put in a sieve and placed on the child’s head; U.; for further details of the procedure in preparing a “heart-cake”, see under rinn, vb. (to rinn de heart). Cf. iveri “heart-cake” = aber h.-c. (opp. to nidi and “feckless” h.-c. as a cure for lack of appetite). 5) magical; having supernatural power, esp. in the comb. “a. knot, a.-knot”, a magical knot, a slip-knot (knot composed of several hitches) used as a remedy or powerful agent. Such knots are (were) made e.g. a) on a so-called “wrestin-tread” [‘thread’] which is (was) bound round a sprained or dislocated limb and is (was) accompanied by a magic formula, b) on a fishing hand-line or long-line when the end of it chances (chanced) to stick fast to the sea-bottom (Un), c) on a rope which is tied round the body of a sick animal (esp. that of a sick cow) (comm.). Sometimes “de a. knot” was employed also of the eagle-knot, de ern’s knot (hitches which were |
