Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland Part I.pdf/177

notes a short piece, cut from the throat of a fish, while the longer piece, cut from the belly, is called tali. Prop. the same word as blagda, blaget; q.v. O.N. blegði(?), wedge. Fritzner gives “blegði”, but strikes out the word in “corrections and errata” as being due to a misunderstanding. At the same time the Norwegian forms of the word, such as “blegg, blei, bleig” (wedge), Sw. dial. “bligd, bläjde, bläje” (wedge), and Da. dial. “blejr” (wedge), together with the Shetl. forms, point back to a root-form *blegð-.

bleget¹, adj., see blaget², adj.

bleget² [blēgət, bᶅēgət, blegət], adj., of a whitish, drab colour: whitish with faint reddish, or brownish (reddish-brown), yellow, or gray tinge, esp. of sheep, sheep’s wool; a b. sheep. Wests. and (occas.) N.I. Almost = bleg, adj. In Fetlar “a b. [blegət] sokk” denotes a dark-coloured stocking or sock having light (white) stripes. In Uⁿ. b. [bᶅē^əgət], besides denoting the above-mentioned colour of sheep’s wool, also denotes the appearance of the earth when covered with half-melted snow: de eart’ gets b. (whitish-drab, gray-drab), but is doubtless here the same word as blaget², adj. — bleget is formed from bleg, adj., by addition of the common adjectival ending -et (O.N. -óttr), but appears in some cases to be of another orig., viz., a parallel form to blaget², adj.

blegg [bleg], vb., to drive a wedge into something, to b. a hoe, to drive a wedge into a hoe in order to fasten the iron to the handle. Fo. Formed from bleg(d), sb.

blekk [blæk], sb., in the compd. “eart’-b.”, iron ore, earth containing iron, used as a black dye. Fe. Differs in the vowel-sound from Eng. black, in Shetl. pronounced “blăk”. O.N. blakkr, adj., dun (of the col-

our of a horse), also used of the colour

of copper. With the form blekk cf. Sw. dial. bläkka, f., as a name for the pewit because of its colour.

blem [blē^əm], sb., 1) blue stripe, a blue b. on de skin; N.Roe. 2) (bluish) curl of smoke; very faint, small cloud of smoke, a b. o’ reek; mostly negatively: no [‘not’] a b. *blæm- from *blám-. O.N. blámi, m., blue colour. See blen¹, sb.

blemek, blemmek [blemək (blɛmək), blæmək], sb., blain; blister; vesicle. Fo. [blemək]. N.Roe [blæmək]. No. blema, blemma, f., id. Cf. bulek, sb.

blen¹ [blēn, blē^ən, blɛ̄a^ən, blæn], sb., 1) blue stripe or spot of cloud, esp. negatively: no [‘not’] a b. on the sky; N.Roe [blēn, blē^ən]. 2) light smoke; the direction which the smoke (from the fire-place) takes; to sit i’ de b. o’ de reek: De^w. (M.Roe) [blēn, blē^ən]. Negatively: no a b. o’ reek, not a sign of smoke; Du. [blæn]. 3) fig.: spot; blemish; der’r no a b. upo de wood, no a b. upon him (his character); Nm^w. [blɛ̄^ən]. — *blæn- from *blán-. Da. and No. blaane, bluish cloud; Sw. (dial.) blåne, bluish colour; O.N. blána, vb., to become blue. Cf. blem, sb.

blen² [blæn], sb., see blan, sb.

blenda, sb., = blanda 1.

bles [blɛs, blæs], sb., a blaze; whitish stripe or spot on the forehead of an animal: a b. on de horse. No. and Icel. blesa, f., a blaze.

bleset [blɛsət, blæsət], adj., blazed, having a white stripe or spot on the forehead, of animals: a b. horse or dog. O.N. blesóttr, adj., blazed.

blesmek, sb., see blasmek.

blett [blɛt, blæt], sb., spot, esp. 1) dirty spot on cloth, dirty bletts; Fe. 2) plot of ground, esp. in the phrases: “a green b.”, a grass-grown plot on a stretch of heather, and “a muldi [mȯldi, møldi] b.”, a

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