Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland Part I.pdf/346

Tabu-name, sea-term? W. Either No. kytel, m., a common knife, wooden knife (for the change k > g in Shetl. Norn, when initial, see Introd. V. — also N.Spr. VII —, § 33), or Cymr. cyllell, a knife (for a change ll > dl on Wests. see Introd. V — also N.Spr. VII —, § 42).

gi’e [gɩ̄], sb., natural ability; a correct manner of behaviour or of carrying out something, almost = kann, sb. In its form, the word is L.Sc. gi’e, vb., = Eng. to give. The meaning given, however, is Norse; cf. No. givnad, m., (something congenital); a natural ability.

gi’e [gɩ̄, gɩ], vb., to give; a L.Sc. form of Eng. to give. In special meaning as a tabu-word at sea in fishermen’s lang.: to fail; go to pieces, of a fishing-line, de lines ga’e [‘gave’] (Sa.); cf. Eng. “give” in sense of to give way, and No. giva seg, inter alia, to fail; give up, No. givast and Fær. gevast, to become fatigued;to lose one’s strength. — Is, in some phrases with prep. and adv., esp. Norse: a) g. on ur upon, to urge on; work energetically at something, — O.N. gefa á; b) g. till, to give much to, in expressing an intense desire; I would “g. till” a guid [‘good’] somet’in’ [‘something’]; cf. Icel.: ek vildi gefa mikit til, at —, and No.: eg skulde giva myket til, um —. “g. till” is also found in sense of to drub; to cudgel, “I ga’e [‘gave’] till him”, but may, in this sense, as well be L.Sc., as “gi’e” in L.Sc. is generally used in sense of to strike. — Note g. op [‘up’] in expr. as: he ga’e op upo dem, he gave it up owing to exhaustion; he withdrew from the game (Sa.); de boat (sail, mast) ga,e op upo dem, the boat (the sail, mast) was no longer serviceable (Fo.); cf. O.N. gefask upp, and Eng. give up.

gig [gi̇̄g], sb., coalfish hung up

and dried, piltek; mostly in the phrase: “sulin gigs”, pl., hanging coalfish turned sour; sulin for *surin. U^w.; Y^w. Orig. uncertain. Might not gig have a similar root-meaning to goieg [O.N. gaukr] — q.v. — used also of coalfish, and be cognate with M.H.G. giege, m., a fool? gig might, in spite of the long vowel, be the same word as the first part of the compd. in “kegga (gigga, kega, gega)-piltek”; q.v.

giget [gigət], adj., stumbling about, making foolish movements and gestures; to geng g., to stumble about like a fool. Uⁿ. Cf. No. giga, vb., to stumble along with a slow, tottering gait, gigl, giglen and giglutt, adj., staggering; rocking; stumbling, ganga (to go) giglent, giglutt (R.). Shetl. giget, with implied notion of foolishness, imbecility, is prob. infl. by Eng. (and Shetl.) giggle, vb.

gigga-piltek [ꬶega (ꬶɩga)-pʌ‘ltək], sb., see kegga-piltek.

gil¹ [gɩl, ꬶɩl], sb., a ravine; ghyll, esp. a small, narrow dale. Also gili [gɩli, geli, ꬶɩli] and gilek [gɩlək, gelək, ꬶɩlək]. comm. gil freq. appears as the last part of compds. in place-names. With suffixed def. art. in the pl. (O.N. -in) is found as a place name, e.g.: Gilena grona [gɩl··əna· grɔna] (Maywickⁿ, Du^w.): *gilin grœnu, “the greenglens”; with an added Eng. pl. -s: de Gilins [gɩlɩns, ꬶɩlɩns] (Fo.). — O.N. gil, n., a cleft in a rock; a deep, narrow dale; ravine; ghyll.

gil² [gɩl, ꬶɩl, gil, ꬶil, gi̇̄l, gɩ̄l, ꬶɩ̄l], sb., prop. fermentation; fermenting liquid, used in the foll. meanings: 1) fermenting beer; gaun [‘going’] g. [gil], recently fermented beer (Fe.?). 2) a foaming eddy, a g. i’ de water; a g. o’ tide, tidal eddy (Conn.: gil, ꬶɩl; Sandw., Du.: ꬶil); greenish or bluish foam around a sunken rock on which the sea is breaking (Easts.: