Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland Part I.pdf/307

hit’s ill to track de brød o’ dratsi ower f. grund, it is difficult to follow the otter’s trail over patchy, snow-covered soil (U^wg.). Appl. to the sea-bottom: covered with bunches of seaweed, growing in patches on it (Edm.). — O.N. flekkóttr, adj., flecked; spotted.

flem, flim [flem], sb., a layer; covering, esp. of fat; fat, floating on the surface of a liquid; fat, skimmed from water in which meat is boiling. Cf. No. fleima (Aa.) and flima (R.), f., thin cloud; slight covering of clouds. — flem [flɛm] and fløm [fløm], phlegm coughed up, differ from flem, flim here treated.

flemper [flæ‘mpər], sb., passion; restless, excited state of mind; to get in [‘into’] a f., to fly into a temper. Conn. Prob. *flempra or *flimpra for an older *flem(p)tra or *flim(p)tra. See the cognate flams, flemster, flemter, flinter. pr from an older ptr is found, e.g. in aper, vb. [O.N. aptra].

flemster [flæ‘mstər] and flemter [flæ‘mtər], sb., a rushing along in a confused hurry; to be in a f., to rush along or about in confusion. flempter: Edm. Occas. in an extended form: flemsteresjon [flæ‘m·stərē·ᶊən] (N.), formed on analogy of Eng. words ending in -ation. Cf. No. flams, n., fidget; flutter, flemsen, adj., confused, flema and flima, vb., to fidget; to rush restlessly about, and Shetl. flinter, sb. and vb.

flemter, sb., see flemster and flinter.

flens, vb., see flins, vb.

fleper [flɛpər (flæpər)], sb., trifling, flattering talk. O.N. fleipr, m., chat; tattle.

fleper [flɛpər (flæpər)], vb., to speak in aflattering, fond way. O.N. fleipra, vb., = fleipa, to chat; tattle; No. fleipra (fleipa), vb., to flirt; caress; coax; flatter; Sw. flepa, vb.

fler [flē^ər], sb., = flar, a thin layer. Wh. fler may either have arisen from flar: *flaðr, or be an older parallel form: *fleðr-; cf. No. fledra, f., a thin flake; splinter.

fles¹ [flɛs (flæs), flēs (flē^əs)], sb., 1) a flat skerry in the sea; also with final def. art.: flesin [flɛsɩn] and flesjin [flɛᶊɩn, flæᶊɩn]. Now mostly as a place-name, name of a skerry, e.g. de Fles [flēs] (Skeldanes, St.), de Fles [flɛ̄^əs] (Shaw, Uⁿ.), de Flesjins [flɛᶊens] (Øjasund, U^s.), de Flesjins [flæᶊəns] o’ Ørister (Fe.). An extended form flestrik [flɛstrɩk, flestrɩk] is found in Unst (Uⁿ.), where it has partly superseded fles as a common noun; note the foll. explanation: “de Fles [flɛs] at Skaw is a big wide flestrik” (Uⁿ.). As a place-name: de Flestreks [flestrəks] (Balta Isle, U^e.). 2) a flat rock on the sea-shore; flat, rocky point of land, esp. as a place-name; U. [flɛs, flæs]; Ai. and Sa. [flēs (flē^əs)]. — O.N. fles, f., a flat skerry in the sea. — With the form flestrik cf. No. flistra, f., a chip; splinter, from “flis”.

fles², sb., see flos², sb.

flestrik, sb., see fles¹, sb.

flet¹ [flæt], sb., a large, flat rock or stretch of rocks sloping towards the shore. Sa. Cf. O.N. flata, flǫt, f., and flati, m., a plane.

*flet² [flət], sb., a patch of cultivated land, strip of arable land or grass-land; now doubtless only in place-names, in which it freq. appears as the second part of compds. in names of cultivated patches of home-field. Uncompd. as a place-name in the forms flot [flȯt], flet [flæt, flət (fləƫ)] and flat, flatt, fläit [(flat) fläƫ, fläit]. See further Sh. Stedn. pp. 93-94. O.N. flǫtr, m., a plane; No. flot, m., a small, flat field; Fær. fløttur, m., a patch of cultivated land, a strip of arable land or grass-land. — Shetl. Flada