Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland Part I.pdf/228

to No. and Sw. dial. dissa, vb., to swing, or to No. deisa, vb., to throw; fling.

dev [dēv (dē^əv, dē^æv), more rarely dev, dəv], vb., 1) to deafen, esp. to bewilder one with loud noise, = L.Sc. deave, deve; du’s devin [dēvɩn] me wi’ din. 2) to soften; calm; alleviate, e.g. pain; de pain is devd [dēvd], the pain is alleviated. 3) to take the chill off; warm slightly, e.g.: to d. water (Du.: dev, dəv); devd [devd, dəvd], having the chill taken off; made lukewarm. — O.N. døyfa (deyfa), vb., to deafen; deaden. dev doubtless arises from *døv, by change of ø to e (cf. e.g. er from ør: O.N. øyrr, eyrr, f., ear; sandy beach), but is prob. influenced in form by L.Sc. “deave, deve”, to which it assimilates in sense 1 (No. døyva, vb., is also found in the same sense). In senses 2 and 3, however, dev is especially Norse; cf. No. døyva, Da. “døve”, in sense of to deaden; alleviate (dev 2), and No. døyva = to soften; prepare by warming up and steaming (dev 3). A rarer parallel form to dev is the form dov [dōv], vb., to deafen or confuse by loud noise (N.), derived from a *daufa or *dauva, which has arisen from “døyfa” by dropping of i-mutation; cf. No. dauva, vb., to make slack, in conjunction with dauv, adj., deaf; slothful; dull, O.N. daufr. See dovin, sb.

devilin [dɛv··ɩlɩn·], sb., the devil, only noted down in the phrase “to d.”! oh! the devil! N.I. (Fe.). The word itself is anglicised in form, but the Old Northern def. art. is preserved. O.N. djǫfullinn, m., the devil.

di [di̇̄], sb., calming of the weather; abatement of storm; he’s a di i’ de wadder. Also dien [di̇̄ən]. S.Sh. (Conn., Du.). Prob. from an orig. *þýð- with the freq. change in Shetl. Norn þ > d (see di², vb., and Introd. V — also N.Spr. VII — § 36); cf.

Icel. þýða, f., mildness, “mildness of weather” (B.H.); Icel. þýðr, adj., mild, of weather: þýtt veðr (O.N. pýðr, mild; kind). di, dien is commonly regarded as being derived from L.Sc. and Shetl. dee, vb., a) to die; b) to die away; become weakened. See di¹, vb.

di¹ [di̇̄], vb., to abate; calm, of rough weather; he’s did i’ de wadder. S.Sh. From O.N. þýða, vb., to attach (oneself) to. See prec. di, sb. The word merges into dee, vb., to die; die away; to become weakened.

di² [di̇̄], vb., to warm up, esp. to prepare limpets (patella), used for bait, by putting them into hot water to loosen them from their shells; to di de limpets, di de bait. Du. Otherwise comm.: to “leep” de limpets. Cf. the sea (tabu)-term “to fell (*vell) de flodreks”. di, in this case, prob. arises from O.N. píða, vb., to thaw; melt by heating, Icel. píða upp, to warm up. For the form, cf. di, sb.

*di, pers. pron. 2nd p. (pl.), see du, pron.

*di [di], prep., for, in an old proverbial phrase where it governs the genitive, like O.N. til, to, for: marta di gons teke di (de) veps [ma‘rta di gå‘ns tekə di (də) vɛps], much can be used for the woof that is useless for the warp, lit.: much (useless, understood) for warp, can be used for woof; original (O.N.) form: margt… til garns, tekit(?) til vepts. Y^h.

dibjassafit (?de-bjassafit) [dibjas··afɩt· (-fit·)], adj., weak; ailing; wretched; a puir [‘poor’] d. body. Uⁿ. Uncertain compd. Prop. a substantive? bjas(s) might be a development from *pis-, *pjas-, like bjakk from *pikk-, pjakk-, and bjark- from *pirk-, *pjark- (see bjakk, sb., and bjarki, adj.). No. pis, m., poor wretch, Sw. dial. pjas, n., (feeble-minded) wretch. Should the last part of the