Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland Part I.pdf/178

plot of mould; sometimes also “a steni b.”, a stony plot of ground. *blettr; Icel. and Fær. blettur, m., a spot. Cf. bogerplett.

bletta [blɛta, blæta] -fluke, sb., plaice. Nm.; prop. spotted flounder. *bletta-(flóki). bletta: Gen. pl. See blett, sb.

blettet [blæ‘tət], adj., spotted, of sheep; “twaa-b.”, prop. having two spots, of a sheep having a white spot on the top of its head and a white spot on its nose. Fo. *blettóttr. See blett, sb.

blide [bläid], adj., gentle; kind; mild; he is no “blide i’ de broo”, he looks angry, in bad humour. O.N. blíðr, adj., id. L.Sc. blithe, blyde, and Eng. blithe, mean glad; joyous, and are accordingly used in a somewhat different sense.

blidin [blidɩn] and blødin [blødɩn], adjectivally in the expr. “a b. calm”, calm weather and sea, comm. of warm weather. Fe. blidin is doubtless the orig. form of the two words; blødin has prob. arisen through a misunderstanding, the word having been regarded as Eng. “bleeding”; cf. Shetl. blød, sb., blood, and blød, vb., to bleed. With “blidin calm” it is reasonable to compare Icel. blíðalogn, n., calm weather and sea. One might, however, also think of Fær. bliktalogn = blikalogn, n., dead calm (cf. No. blikta, vb., to gleam; flash, and Shetl. blit, blitek, sb., prob. from *blikt), or of a connection with No. blidra, vb., to tremble; vibrate (with intermittent gleams of light).

blig [blɩg, bleg], sb., = blega¹. Uⁿ., Yⁿ. O.N. blik, n., (shine) something gleaming, pale or white; No. blik, n., white spot, e.g. on a rock. The pronunc. bleg might, however, as well be an abbr. of blega and allied to O.N. bleikja, f.

blikken [blɩkən], vb., 1) to turn

pale; he blikkend wi’, he turned pale (on account of something); Icel. and Fær.: hann bliknaði við. 2) to fade; wither; de taatis [‘potatoes’] is blikkend (Nm.). O.N. blikna, vb., to turn pale.

blind¹ [blɩnd], sb., 1) = blink: a glint; gleam; gleam of light; mostly negatively in expr. as: der’r [‘there is’] no [‘not’] a b. o’ light within de door; no a b. o’ fire, o’ oil (lamp-oil); no. a b. i’ de lamp; we canno get a b. ut o’ dese peats. Y., Fe. 2) a wink of sleep; doze; I’m no sleepet [‘slept’] a b. de night [‘to-night’]. Y., Fe. *blindr, parallel form to O.N. blundr, m., a wink of sleep. Cf. blink and blont, which are used like blind, sb., in both senses of this word.

blind² [blɩnd], sb., a species of spider with very long legs, daddy-longlegs, found in the pasture, esp. on peaty soil. Noted down in the compd. “Sara [sāra]-blind”, in which “Sara” is = Soro from “Sorrow”, a name for the devil. Uⁿ. The name “blind” can be explained from the insect’s natural avoidance of light. Cf. No. blindklegg and blinding, Sw. dial. blinding, m., horse-fly, tabanus.

blind [blɩnd], adj., 1) blind. 2) very dense and dark, of mist, a b. mist. O.N. blindr, adj., blind.

blind [blɩnd], vb., 1) to make blind, — O.N. blinda. 2) in the expr. “to b. de een”, to slumber; close the eyes (Uⁿ.); also with object omitted: I’m no blinded de night, I did not sleep a wink last night (Y., Fe.); *blinda, parallel form to O.N. blunda, vb., to slumber; see blind¹, sb. 2.

blindho [blɩnd·hō·], sb., another name for the so-called hotosk, a small, dark-coloured shark, spotted and without dorsal fin (mustelus). *blindr hár. Regarded by fishermen as being blind.