Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland Part I.pdf/227

derdel [dærdəl], sb., short tail, sheep’s tail. Uⁿ. Icel. dirðill, Fær. dirðil, m., id. With ref. to derd- for *dird- see derl, derrel, sb. derdel is also found in the sense of tail-root, caudal vertebra (U^mo.), = derl, derrel.

derg [dærg, dərg], sb., something important and valuable, comm. ironically of trumpery or (collect.) worthless things. Doubtless the same word as darg, sb.

derg [dærg], vb., to poke the fire persistently and violently, to d. i’ de fire. Prob. a form derived from darr, vb., or for *degr from *daðra; see further under darr, vb.

derl, derrel [dærəl], sb., tail, esp. of sheep; also tail-root; caudal vertebra; the hindmost bone of the spine of an animal, de d. o’ de grice [‘pig’]. At times in a wider sense: something dangling; a rag; pl., derrels, rags. Prob.: *darl or *derrill, a deriv. of *darri; No. darre, m., vertebra of the neck; pivot of a door; a slender, quivering object. Cf. darl (dorl), sb. — In Unst a distinction is made between derdel [dærdəl], tail of a sheep, and derl, derrel, caudal vertebra. derdel seems to come from *dirðill: Icel. dirðill, Fær. dirðil, m., short tail; tail of a sheep; but the vowel-sound, in any case, indicates the influence of derl, derrel.

dermin [dærmɩn]-faced, adj., of sheep: having gray (dark) stripes on the face, esp. of a sheep of light colour with darker stripes. Conn. Not sufficiently confirmed; in any case, a rare word, derm(in) — provided this word is authentic — might represent *demr(in) in the sense of something dark, gray, as a deriv. of or cognate with *dimm- (O.N. dimmr, adj., Eng. dim, adj.); for the final r cf. domra, sb., fog, and Ger. dämmern, Da. dæmre. The suffix -in for -et [-óttr]? For the metathesis

mr > rm cf. the reverse order in gomra from *gorma; see gomra, sb.

dert [dæ‘rt], sb., an old, decrepit, emaciated animal, a auld [‘old’] d. o’ a coo, o’ a sheep (N.Roe). Also an old maid. Really one who trips about? Cf. dart, vb., to stamp, No. darta, to trip, and derta, to step carefully, lightly and daintily, Gothlandic därrtä, to step cautiously.

dertek [dæ‘rtək, dɛ‘rtək], sb., a boot, sea-boot, tabu-word, used by fishermen at sea; comm. in pl.: derteks. Fe. *dertingr? To be classed with dart, vb., to stamp with the foot; q.v. — Other names are lers, pl., and stenkels, pl.

des [dɛs, dæs], sb., 1) hay-rick, large hay-stack; comm. 2) heather-stack; U.; Y. The mown heather (tek), to be used for thatching purposes, is dried in small, oblong stacks, called riggins, and then stacked up in a larger one, the so-called des. O.N. des, f., stack; hay-stack. Cf. dos, doss, sb.

des [dɛs, dæs], vb., 1) to heap up hay in stacks; comm. 2) to heap up mown heather in stacks; U.; Y. *desja, vb. See prec. des, sb.

desket [dɛskət, dæskət], adj., 1) exhausted; worn out; comm.; at times also with long æ-sound: dæsket [dǣskət] (Fladab., Conn.). 2) limp; slothful; dull, a desket body (Fo.; N.I. occas.). Cf. Sw. dial. daska, vb., a) to be indolent and dilatory; b) to go quietly; jog along. 3) confused; helpless; moping (Fe.; U^s.). — For the etym. of the word see dasket, adj.

dess [dæs(s)], vb., only noted down in the sense of to set out the long-line, in boat-fishing; he’s dessin her (de line) doon [‘down’] to Dagen [dāgən], he sets out the line by “Dagen” (a fishing-ground, also called “Mirka” [mə‘rka]). Fe. Uncertain origin. Poss. to be referred