Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland Part I.pdf/169

Y^h. Cf. No. borre, m., (burdock) proud, harsh fellow; byrren, adj., angry; fierce (of animals).

birsi [bə‘rsi], sb., de b.: “the bristly one”, sea-term (tabu-name) for the swine. Fo. Also as a name for some fishing-grounds with a very uneven bottom: de Birsi (U^w.). Prob. an old name, but the present form, with the final -i and omission of t after s, is L.Sc. (L.Sc. “birs”, bristle, with derived adj. “birsy, birssy”, bristly). Cf. birst, adj., and birstalek, sb.

birst [bə‘rst], adj., angry; peevish; ill-tempered (prop. bristly, that raises the bristles); also in other forms: borst [bȯ‘rst], borstet [bȯ‘rstət], bosten [bȯstən], bostet [bȯstət], birstet [bə‘rstət], bistet [bəstət]. Fo. (birst, borst). Sa., Ai., etc. (birstet, borstet). Papa St. (bosten, bostet). Usually compounded with ill: ill-birstet, -borstet, -bistet, -bosten, -bostet. In some places on Wests. (Ai.; Sa. occas.) birstet also means unpleasantly strong in taste, said esp. of something kept too long (see bersket, adj.). *byrstinn, adj., from O.N. burst, f., bristle; hog’s bristle; No. bysten, adj., choleric, “busten”, fierce; harsh (R.). No. illbyste, “idlabyste”, n., ill-tempered woman (R.). Cf. Shetl. ill-bistet, adj. With birstet in sense of strong (of taste) cf. L.Sc. birssy (bristly), adj., in sense of bitter; sharp, of weather; No. busten, bustren, adj., in a similar sense. Cf. bist, sb., and bost, sb.

birstalek [bə‘r··stalek·], sb., hog’s bristle at the end of a thread for sewing shoes, pl. (birstaleks): sewing-thread (waxed) with hog’s bristles at both ends; ha’e ye [‘have you’] ony [‘any’] birstaleks? U. (Woodwick). *bursta-leif; No. busteleiv, f., a piece of waxed thread with a bristle at the end; O.N.

bursti, busti, m., hog’s bristle used by shoemakers.

birstet, adj., see birst, adj.

birt, adj., see bjart, adj.

birt [bə‘rt], vb., to quicken a fire (a light), to b. op de fire; opposite to the phrase “to b. ut de fire”, to let the fire out (Yⁿ.). — More comm. in the form burt; see burt, vb. — O.N. birta, vb., to make bright and clear.

birtek [bɩ‘rtək, bə‘rtək] and birti [bɩ‘rti, bə‘rti], sb., 1) sea-term (tabu-name) for fire; sometimes birten [bɩ‘rtən] with preserved def. art. N.Sh. (N.I. Mⁿ.). Sporadic in diff. districts: birtek [bɩ‘rtək]: De. occas. and Lunn occas.; birdek [berdək, bərdək]: St. occas.; birki [bə‘rki]: De. occas. With altered vowel-sound: burt [bo‘rt]: Du. Forms as virda, virdek [vɩrda, vɩrdək] are corrupted by combination with another word (see virdek; sb.). 2) fig., bright spot; enlivenment; birtek: Nm^w. (Esh.); dis is a b. — O.N. birta, birti, f., clearness; light; shining; brightness. — Cf. burt, vb.

bisi, bissi¹ [bɩsi, besi, bɩzi], sb., 1) litter for cattle (or lambs) in stall, esp. litter consisting of earth and dried manure in separate layers (bisiflas); a byre-b.; comm. 2) in transferred sense of: a) poor, damp bed (Y.), and b) heap; mass; dunghill (Fe.). No. bys, n., litter; Sw. dial. bössja, byssja, f., litter under animals.

bisi, bissi² [bɩsi, besi], sb., stall in a byre; reported from U. in the sense of stall for a cow, from Fo. in the sense of stall for a calf. This word is much rarer than the preceding “bisi, bissi”, by which it has been influenced and to which it assimilates in form. O.N. báss, m., stall.

bis(s)ifla [bɩs·iflā·, bes·i-.bɩz·i-], sb., one of the layers composing the