Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland Part I.pdf/523

the long-tailed duck, anas glacialis. Also Orkney. Acc. to Barry, Ork. caloo, callow, denotes pintail, anas acuta. Prob. an onomatopœic word.

kalv-tree, sb., a cylindrical piece of wood with a notch at the one end, for thrusting into the mouth of a fish to remove the hook when swallowed too far down. See patl-tree.

*kamb [kamb] and *komba [kɔmba (komba)], sb., sharp-crested mountain ridge, prop. a comb. Now only as a place-name. “Kamb” is now found as the name of a farm in Y^m., originally: *undir kambi, while the large, comb-shaped hill, at the foot of which the farm lies, is called “de Kame (Kaim)” or “de Hill o’ Kamb”. “Komba” is the old, not quite obsolete name of a hill on the isle of Foula [fula], now generally called “de Kame (Kaim)”. “Komba [kɔmba]” is the old, now obsolete name of “de Hill o’ Hellister”, Wd., only preserved in the name “de Sten o’ Komba”. A form “komb” is found in Yⁿ. in the name “Fellakomb [fel··akɔmb·]”. With dropped final b, e.g.: Hestakam [hæs··takam·] (Nip o’ Burrafirt’, U.), hill-ridge, pasture-land for horses: *hestakambr; Brattikom [bräƫ··ekom·] (Aithslee, Fe.): *bratti kambr; Rongakom [råŋ··(g)akɔm·] (Skaw, Uⁿ.): *rangi kambr. de Komens [koməns], def. pl. (N.Roe): *kambarnir. With lengthened o-sound: Mukla Korn [mokla kōm], and Litla Kom [lɩtla kōm] (Papa St.): *mikli, lítli kambr. See Sh. Stedn. pp. 115—116. O.N. kambr, m., a comb; a crested ridge of hills. — The L.Sc. form “kame, kaim”, has superseded komb, komba, in the colloq. language.

kani [kani, kāni], sb., (the hindmost part of) the stern-compartment of a boat, esp. the space between the last rib and the stern, the hind-

most part of “de shot” (stern-compartment). Fe. [kani]. U. [kani, kāni]. S.Sh. (Du.) [kani]. Cf. Icel. kani, m., something projecting on an object, a trunk, snout, also a kind of boat (B.H.), kanabragð, n., the top of a boat’s stem to which the ropes are fastened (B.H.). No. kane, m., a bowl (“kani” in Icel. also a small wooden vessel). Germ. kahn, m., a boat.

†kankersten [ka‘ŋ··kərsten·], sb., (white) quartz, a hard species of stone. Ai.

kann¹ [kan (kaᶇ, käᶇ)], sb., inspection, counting up, esp. of cows which have been collected in the out-field (to see that none is missing); “ane o’ my k., twaa o’ my k., t’ree o’ my k.”, etc.: reported of a woman’s counting-up of her cows (St.: kăn). *kann. See below kann, vb. — In the now more general sense: ability in carrying out a task; skill; knowledge; handiness, partly = vand, sb., kann is L.Sc. can, cann, sb.

kann² [kan], sb., a can as a measure of liquids, esp. of train-oil; = ¹⁄₄ bull(e) and ¹⁄₃₆ of a barrel (acc. to Rental of Yetland, 1628); see *bull, sb. Corresponding to O.N. kanna, “justukanna” as ¹⁄₄ bolli. Balfour gives “can” as a measure of “¹⁄₄₈ of a barrel.” — In general sense, Shetl. kann assimilates to Eng. can, sb.

kann [kan, käᶇ (kaᶇ)], vb., 1) to inspect; to count up, esp. count the cows (in the out-field) to see that none is missing; to k. de kye [‘cows’] or de baess [‘beasts’, the cattle], to kain [käin] de kye: Øja, Nm^n.-w. to kand [kaᶇd (kaᶇd)]: U. occas.; to kand de kye, to count the cows; to kand among de kye, to examine or count the cows, choosing out the best (U.). 2) to try to identify by closer examination or