Many Norn words in Shetland have been fully or partly translated into English (L. Scottish), but with the special Northern (Norn) meanings preserved.
bank, sb., ledge, as e.g. peat-bank, and banks, pl., steep coast, show anglicising of O.N. “bakki”.
doon-lay, sb., doon-lie, sb., and various other words beginning with “doon”.
doors, sb. pl., door, with sing. meaning. O.N. dyrr, f. pl., door.
ebb, sb., in sense of foreshore (O.N. fjara, in sense of foreshore, as well as ebb).
elf(s)wind, sb., netle-rash, cutaneous eruption. Cf. No. alvblaaster, alvgust, id.
fa’-sjon, sb., epidemic, esp. in cattle, from O.N. fall-sótt, epidemic.
for-speak, fore-speak, vb., to consecrate by reciting a formula: O.N. fyrirmæla, vb.
f(r)ae-say, sb., f(r)ae-tale, sb., from O.N. frásaga or frasǫgn, f.
Special meanings more recently developed in Shetlandic (as well as older meanings found only in Shetl. Norn):
as(s)u, esmel, sb. (heavy rain). a bas o’ a fire (bas2, sb.). binder, sb. (jarbind). binjek, sb. bjart, adj., partly with opp. meaning to the original. bjartin, sb. bjels, sb. bjog, sb. blegd, sb. 2. blonäild, adj. bodabid, -bit, sb. to geng bodabid. bodda, sb. bogel, sb. bolts, sb. pl. brenna in “brenna-stew”, heavy breakers, surf; otherwise brim, brust, sb. and vb. bunksi, sb. 2, skua (gull).
dava, sb., däi, sb., däib, vb. 2, dolhoit, sb., dokka, sb. 1 (ancient meaning), drølin, sb.
faks, sb., long, foam-crested billow. faks, vb., of billows: to form combers; O.N. fax, n., a mane. fisp, vb. [*fipsa]. fjuglins (fjoglins), sb. pl. folgju, sb.
ganfer, sb., weather phenomena [*gandferð]. getel, sb., *geitill (induration) in get(els)rigg, get(la)rigg, getilben, riggagitel, where it means vertebra; getel, gitel is hardly the same word as Fær. geisli, vertebra, because sl does not change to tl (or conversely) in Shetl. Norn, glunta, etc. = a) the moon, b) a lamp. hjolpinsten, sb. kilpersten, sb.
Compounds from Old Northern in Shetlandic, not found in other Northern languages:
adna(n)kwi, adnasjur, allakrabb, annaset (adna-), annister, sbs.
bakkalist, bambirr, bambus, bar-claw, sbs., barlopen (-lobin), adj., boljasog(a), bomfisin, bonnhoga, bonnsvamm, bordaskep, *brøniskolt, sbs.
darri-inkel, vb., drittslengi, drottslengi, sbs., drups(j)agi, adj. ennapi, ennepig, sb.
