Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland Part I.pdf/154

a bear; No. (Li.) bjørntak, n., trial of strength by placing one’s hand in that of another at right angles (R.).

bani [bani, bāni], sb., prop. bane; death, but now only used of: 1) attack on one’s health; a bad cold, he’s gotten his b. 2) bad treatment or usage; a drubbing in a fight, he’s gotten his b. Fe. O.N. bani, m., bane; death.

bank [ba‘ŋk], sb., edge; bank; ledge, esp. 1) ledge in a peat-pit, row of spade-depths, peat-bank, = No. bakke 5 (Ross); see bakk 2 and bakkagrof. 2) steep coast, = Fær. bakki; comm. in pl.: banks. — bank is the Eng. form which has superseded the old bakk(a); but the word is preserved in special Norn applications.

bann [ban(n)], vb., to swear, esp. in the tautological phrase “to curse and b.”, to swear vigorously. O.N. banna, vb., to forbid; curse, in No. and Fær. also: to swear; L.Sc. to ban.

bar [bār], sb., 1) the fins of a fish, esp. long fins, forming a fringe, such as of tusk, ling, halibut and ray; occas. in pl., as: de bars o’ de skate (Conn.), de bar-cut o’ a turbot [= Eng. halibut], a strip, including the fins, cut from a halibut; fairly comm. Also in the form berd [bērd, bē^ərd], comm. in the pl.: berds, de b. o’ a turbot [‘halibut’] (Du.). O.N. barð, n., brim; edge; beard. See bakbar, sb., and barlopen, adj. 2) ear, bearded ear of corn; the upper part of the straw where the ear is attached, de b. o’ de strae (Sullom, Nm.); cf. barfljug, vb., and barlopen, adj., as well as bard (berd), vb. With regard to the verbal forms bard, berd (see below), bar also in sense 2 is more prob. to be derived from O.N. barð, n., beard, than from O.N. barr, m., (inter alia = corn; barley).

*bard [bārd], sb., promontory;

prominent edge of a cliff; now only as a place-name, e.g. de Bard o’ Bressay. O.N. barð, n., brim; edge; border. Cf. *bord (*bordek, *borr, *berdek).

bard [bārd], vb., 1) vb. a., to thrash the corn from the stalks in a sheaf, to b. ut [‘out’] de sheaf. 2) vb. n., of the ears in a bundle of corn, sheaf: to be loosened from the stalks (on account of mildew), to b. ut, de corn bards or is bardin ut. Also berd [bērd], vb., in the same sense (cf. Eng. beard}). Fe., Y. *barda. See bar, sb. 2.

bardasoga [bār··dasȯg·a, bār··dəsō·ga], sb., prop. St. Bartholomew’s Day, but only preserved in sense of an unreasonably long time, "eternity", in exprs. such as: to wait a b., to stand for (in) a b.; hit [‘it’] will be a b., afore du gets dis [‘this’] done. U. [bârdasȯga]. Fe. [bārdəsōga]. O.N. Bardolsvaka, f., No. dial. Barsoka: St. Bartholomew’s Day (August 24th). The former application of the name in Shetl. possibly alludes to an unusually long service, held in former times on the above-mentioned day (S.B.).

barfljug [barfᶅug, -fᶅog], vb., after the thrashing of the corn: to separate the remaining corn from the straw by shaking and flinging it about; to b. de corn; esp. of barley. Fo. Prob.: *barð-fløygja. For bar [*barð] see above bar, sb. 2, and bard, vb. O.N. fløygja, vb., to fling; throw. Cf. fljog, vb. The so-called barfljugin is preceded by: a) the actual thrashing (“treshin’”), and b) de humlin’. For a second barfljug, vb., see barflog, vb.

barflog [bar·flog·, bär·flog·, -flȯg·, -flɔg·], vb., to beat one’s hands crosswise around the shoulders to keep oneself warm, to stand barflogin; with object: he barflogged him [‘himself’] or his hands. Comm.