Yorkshire Dialect Words of Old Norse Origin

 

Yorkshire dialect word	Generally accepted meaning	Old Norse source word	Notes and comments
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agate	on the way (as in "..be/get on your way" = "Get agate!")	gata	See also gate, below.
arse	posterior, bottom, back, behind, buttocks; back of a cart or wagon; back of something ("arse end of…")	ars	Has now passed into vernacular English usage.
arval	as in "arval bread" = a kind of cake eaten at funerals.	erfil
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bait	to feed, to offer food; a packed meal; contents of a lunchbox.	beit
ban	to curse, to swear.	banna
band	string, rope, yarn, cord.	band
barf	hill, especially one which is long and low.	bjarg
barn	child (especially a young child, infant)	barn	Same as bairn, which comes from the Old English bearn. bairn is used as an alternative in some parts of Yorkshire, the other northern counties and Scotland.
beck	A stream, a brook.	bekkr	The Old English cognate bæce may also be the source of the dialect word, though the fact that beck is generally confined to the Danelaw and the north-west as a landscape term suggests an Old Norse etymology.
bensel, bensil	to beat, to thrash	benzla
biggerstang	scaffold pole	?	cf Swedish bygga (= build, construct, construction) and ON stangar (= pole). See also stang
blaeberry	bilberry	blabær	ON bla = blue
blake	sallow, yellow (usually in relation to someone's complexion)	bleikr
bleck	thick and dirty grease (as on axles and bearings)	blek
boose	division or partition in a cowshed	bas	Probably related to the Standard English box (cf, e.g., loose box, horse box, etc)
brig, brigg	bridge	briggja	May also occur in landscape terminology, with the meaning rocky headland, promontory, as in Filey Brigg.
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cahr	to settle down, to become quiet	?	May be a corruption of the Standard English cower, but also cf Icelandic kyrr.
cam	bank, slope, ridge	kambr	May be associated with the Standard English camber (slope; rounded edge [especially of a road] ).
carr	marshy woodland or shrubland	kjarr	Often found only as an element in place names or the names of landscape features (e.g. Hunslet Carr, etc).
clap	to apply quickly, put down quickly or slap with the hand ("She clapped it down on't table").	klappa	Probably associated with the Standard English clap = to applaud by slapping the hands together rhythmically
cleg	horse fly	kleggi
cletch	family of young (e.g. children or chickens)	klegja	May be related to the Standard English clutch, as in "clutch of eggs".
collop, scollop, scallop	thick slice or lump of food, usually ham, bacon or potatoes	?	cf Swedish kalops
crake	crow	kraka
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dale	valley	dalur	May be associated with the Standard English dell.
dee (to)	to die	deyja	May simply be a regional vowel change of the Standard English word die.
deg	to sprinkle (especially water)	doegva
ding	to hit heavily, knock, throw down violently	?	cf Danish dænge
doit	to become forgetful or confused; to allow things to slip from memory; to be failing (with age)	?	cf Icelandic detta, duttum, dottin, etc., (= to fall down).
dollop	lump of something (usually soft, like mashed potato)	?	cf Norwegian dialect dolp
durn	door-post	?	cf Norwegian dyrn
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ettle	to intend, to aim to	ætla
-ey	island, or dry area in a marshy place	ey	Now generally found only as an element in place names, such as Pudsey, Wibsey, etc.
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fell	hill, mountain slope (especially rough moorland)	fjall
femmer	slight, light, weak	fimmer
flags, flagstones	flat, thin, rectangular stones used for paving, roofing or flooring	flaga
flaik, fleek, fleak	hurdles, railings, fence, or open wooden storage rack	fleki
flit	to move house	flytja	A more generalised meaning is found in Standard English, where "to flit about" is to move quickly from one place to another. cf also German fledermaus (an archaic English name for a bat was flittermouse).
foss, force	waterfalls, rapids (e.g. Thornton Force, Janet's Foss, etc)	fors	Found usually in the names of landscape features only.
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gain	near ("gain hand"), quick	gegn
garth	small grass enclosure adjacent to a house	garðr	Obviously related to the Standard English garden, French jardin, German garten, etc.
gat	got	geta	Probably simply a regional vowel change of the English get
gate	way, street	gata	Found mainly in street names in towns/cities of the Danelaw, e.g. Kirkgate, Eastgate, Briggate, etc.
gaum, gawm	heed ("Ee taks noa gawm" = "He takes no heed, pays no attention"); common sense (gormless = lacking in sense)	gaumr
gawp	to stare, to gape open-mouthed	gapa
gill, ghyll	small narrow valley or ravine	gjel	Found mainly in the names of landscape features, e.g., Trollers Ghyll, Ramsgill, etc.
gilt	immature female pig	gyltr
gimmer	immature female sheep (before it first gives birth to lambs)	gymbr
glocken	to start to thaw; when snow begins to clear away	?	cf Icelandic glöggur, etc (= to make clear, become clear).
gloppened, glottened	astonished, surprised, flabbergasted	glupna
gowk	cuckoo	gaukr
graave	to dig	?	cf Swedish gräva and other Scandinavian cognates
grain	fork in the branches of a tree; where a stream branches; prong of an eating fork	grein
greet	to weep, to cry continuously	?	cf Swedish gråta and other Scandinavian cognates.
groop	the slurry drain in a cowshed; open sewer	grop
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Note: Initial /h/ is not normally pronounced in the Yorkshire dialects
hagg	part of an area of woodland, especially on a sloping bank	hagi
handsel	money given to someone to seal a bargain or bind a contract	handsala
happen	perhaps, maybe, by chance, as in "Happen I'll go home today".	happ
haver	oats (e.g., as in havercake = oatcake)	hafre	No doubt this is the root of the English word haversack = a small canvas backpack or rucksack, part of a soldier's equipment and probably originally used for carrying a ration of oatmeal.
hey up	look out, be careful	?	Origin uncertain, but cf Swedish sey upp ! More likely to be used now as a form of greeting in Yorkshire, rather than as a warning.
higg	temper, annoyance, to take offence at something	hoggva (?)
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ice-shoggles	icicles	isjukel	Appears to be related to Standard English icicles
ing(s), eng(s)	meadow(s), especially water meadow near a river	eng	Now usually found only as an element in place names, such as Fairburn Ings, Bean Ings, etc.
jannock	fair, right, just (justice)	jamn
keck	(descriptive of hollow-stemmed plants)	kjot
keld, kell	spring or well	kelda	Usually found as an element in the name of a landscape feature
ket	carrion; raw meat or flesh; offal; rubbish	?	cf Icelandic ket/kjöt, Swedish kött and other Scandinavian cognates for meat.
ketty	nasty, rancid		See ket above.
kilp	pot hook, pot handle	kilpr
kytel	working coat of coarse material	?	cf Norwegian kittel
kist	large box, chest or trunk	kista	Related to the Standard English chest
kittle	to tickle	kitla
kittlin	kitten	kettling
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laik, leck	to play	leika	The verb laikin' is also used in some parts of Yorkshire for days off work or having no work to do ("He's laikin' today" = "He's not working today"). Note: As in most Yorkshire dialect words, the final /g/ is not sounded.
laithe, leeath	barn, agricultural building	hlatha	Frequently found as an element in place names, such as Newlaithes
lam	to strike hard, to throw hard	lemja
lat	late	latr	May be simply a vowel change from the Standard English late, but the close phonetic similarity with the Old Norse word suggests otherwise.
leck	to sprinkle with water	?	cf Icelandic lek, leka, lak (= to leak). Probably related to the Standard English leak/toleak.
lig, ligg	to lie down, to leave resting in place	liggja	This may be the root of the term for a builder's or plasterer's ligger board, where mortar or plaster is left in place until needed
ling	heather	lyng
lisk	groin, where legs join	?	cf Norwegian lyske.
loose, lowse	to exit or leave from somewhere; to finish for the day and go home (as from work or school).	?	cf Icelandic laus, laust, etc. (= loose, free, vacant). In Yorkshire, to be found in expressions such as "Football's looseing" (= the crowd is leaving the football ground at the end of the game), etc. Probably distantly related to the Standard English loose in the sense of 'being free'.
lop	flea	?	cf Danish and Norwegian loppe ( flea)
lug (1) lug (2)	to pull or carry. a knot or tangle in the hair.	lugge	Both uses share the sense of pulling, or tugging, something. Hair which is luggy causes the comb or brush to catch and tug.
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mawk	maggot	mathkr	mawky is also descriptive of a surly, unfriendly individual.
mell	sand dunes	melur	Now found only as an element in place names, or as a landscape feature name.
mense	decency; neatness, tidiness.	mennska
mickle	much, greater, large	mikkel	Sometimes found as an element in place names (e.g. Micklethwaite) and, in York, in the street name Micklegate.
middin, midden	dung heap, rubbish tip, dustbin	myki-dyngja	midden is also found in Standard English, but is generally restricted to use in an archaeological context, whereas in Yorkshire it is an everyday term.
minnin-on	a snack which staves off hunger until the main meal of the day	minna (= to remind)	May be related to the use of mind in phrases such as "Now mind you wash behind your ears", in the sense of remembering to do something.
moss	bog, marsh	mose	Now found only as an element in landscape feature names, such as Fleet Moss, Holme Moss, etc.
mot, motty	marker used when ploughing; something to aim at; a rendezvous	?	cf Norwegian mot (i retning) (towards, in the direction of) and Swedish mot (towards).
muck; mucky	dirt, manure; dirty, messy.	myki	Also used in Standard English in expressions such as muck raking (seeking out and revealing scandal), which derives from the agricultural activity of mucking out stables, etc. In Yorkshire, muckment may also be found in use, meaning rubbish.
mun	must, will, shall	mun
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nang	troublesome, painful, irritating	angr	A nangling (or nankling) task is one that is tiresome, fiddly, intricate and awkward to perform.
nay	no	nei	Rarely used now in its specifically negative sense, but more often found as a precursor to some admonishment or reprimand ( "Nay, lad, tha's doing' that all wrong ! " )
ness	headland, promontory	næs	Now to be found only as an element in the names of landscape features or in place names (e.g. Hackness, Holderness). cf French nez, as in Cap Gris Nez, etc.
nieve	fist	nefi
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poke	sack, bag, pouch	poki	May equally have come from the same English root as pocket
rack	judgement by eye of accuracy, alignment, length, etc. (rather than by the use of a ruler or other instrument).	?	Usually heard only in the dialect expression "..bi t'rack o' t'ee" ("..by the rack of the eye"). cf Swedish rak (straight) and Norwegian rak (direct, straight, erect).
ram, rammy	smelling strongly, pungent	?	cf , for example, Icelandic rammur, rant, etc (strong, pungent) and Norwegian ram (pungent).
reckle	to poke, to stir (especially of a fire in the hearth)	?	cf Icelandic reka (thrust, run through something)
reckon	to pretend, to think, to consider	reikna	Found also in American English, used in similar senses.
rick, reek	smoke, to smoke	reykja	reek has passed into Standard English where it has undergone semantic shifting which appears to have followed the course smoke=>smell like smoke=>smell unpleasant like smoke=>smell unpleasant (of anything), as in "He reeks of whisky". But, dialectally, the original meaning is retained.
Riding	One of the three former administrative parts of Yorkshire (North, East and West)	þriðjungr (= a third part)	The Ridings were disbanded in 1974, which stimulated the initiation of an annual Yorkshire Day (1 August) by the Yorkshire Ridings Society, which continually urges the reinstatement of these Viking-originated divisions. The East Riding has since been restored. See also wapentake.
rig-welted	descriptive of a sheep which is stranded by being laid on its back	hrygg (spine) + velte	cf Norwegian ryggrad (spine, backbone) and velte (overthrow, overturn); Swedish ryggrad (spine); Icelandic hryggur (back, spine) and velta (tumble, fall). The Standard English ridge may be associated with rig.
rive	to tear or split	rifa
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sackless	ineffectual, simple-minded, lacking in energy or effort; also innocent of wrong intent	saklauss
scale	summer dwelling and pasture	skali	Found usually as an element in place names, particularly field names. See also seat.
scar, scaur	cliff, or rocky outcrop with a steep face	skera	Found mainly as an element in the names of landscape features, such as White Scar, or settlements which take their name from a feature (e.g. Ravenscar)
scuttle	basket for holding grain; metal bucket for coal	skutill	The metal bucket for coal meaning is found in Standard English
seat, set(t), side	summer pasture or dwelling place	sætr	Found usually as an element in place names, particularly field names. See also scale.
seaves	rushes	sef
seg	hard callous of skin on the hand	sigg	Now used as a trade name for crescent-shaped metal studs put in the soles of boots and shoes to prolong wear.
sile, siling	to rain heavily, as in "It's siling down"	?	cf Norwegian dialect sila. Also Norwegian and Swedish sila (strain, filter). There is a suggestion here of liquid running quickly through a strainer or filter.
sike, syke, sitch	small stream or gulley, gutter.	?	cf Icelandic síki (streamlet, rill flowing through marshy ground).
skahme, skyme	to glance sideways furtively or scornfully	?	cf Icelandic skamma (revile), Swedish skamsen and Norwegian skamfull (ashamed). Probably related to the Standard English shame/ashamed.
skeelbeease	division or partition in a cowshed	skelja (to divide)
skeller, skellered	to be warped or twisted (especially of wood)	?	cf Norwegian skjelende (squint) and Swedish skelögd (cross-eyed).
skell up	to upset, overturn, knock down	?	cf Icelandic skella, skell, skall (crash, fall wiuth a crash, throw down)
sken	to look at with screwed-up eyes, peer intently	?	cf Swedish sken (to glare), Norwegian skinne (to glare).
skep, skip	large wicker basket (especially that used for storing and moving materials in a textile mill)	?	May be related to the Icelandic skápur (cupboard, wardrobe, locker, etc), in the sense of a container. cf also English skep (wooden or wicker basket; a straw or wicker beehive) and modern English skip (large metal container for waste), in which case the 'Yorkshire' words may be non-dialectal. All may be derived from an ancient root word for ship, in the sense of a 'carrying container' and as one primitive form of craft was the wickerwork, basket-like coracle.
skift, shift	to get out of the way, to get a move on	?	Clearly associated with the Standard English shift (to move, to deviate), but the sk- element may suggest a regional variation derived from Old Norse.
skimmer	to shine brightly, to sparkle	?	cf Swedish skina (to gleam or shine) and Norwegian skinn, skinne. Probably associated closely with the Standard English shimmer (to shine).
skitters	diarrhoea	skita
skive	to split or pare leather or hide	skifa
skrike	to shriek or cry out loudly	skrækja	Clearly related to the Standard English shriek (cf modern Swedish pronunciation of /sk/ as /sh/)
skyr	shire (county) or part of a shire county.	?	Speculative ! Socio-political and administrative systems which have developed differently in the Scandinavian countries make cognate detection and comparison difficult. May be derived from the Old English scír, scíre (now shire) but with a 'hard' /k/ replacing the English 'soft' /c/ in 'Scandinavian' England. Now found only as an element in place names, such as Skyrack ('shire oak'), part of Leeds.
slack	a small valley or depression in the ground	slakki	Found mainly as an element in the names of landscape features.
slape, slaape, slippy	slippery	?	cf Icelandic sleppa, etc., (to become free, to escape, to get off), Norwegian sleip (slippery). It is possible that the Yorkshire dialect forms had the early meaning "..to slip away". In some parts of Yorkshire, slape ale is a free drink of beer, or beer bought for one by someone else. Obviously related to the Standard English slip, slippery, etc. I also found the slippy variation in use in Co. Meath, Ireland, suggesting that it has wider currency in other varieties of English.
slocken	to quench thirst, to drink greedily	?	cf Norwegian slokke (to quench), Swedish sluka (to swallow); also Icelandic slökkva (to extinguish, put out) in the sense of quenching.
snod	smooth, sleek; short (of a fleece)	snoðin (= bald)
spelk, spell	small sliver of wood used in thatching; splinter of wood in the skin.	?	cf Norwegian spjelke (splinter), Swedish splitter (splinter).
spittle	small, flat piece of wood used for putting bread in and out of the oven.	?	cf Icelandic spýta, etc., (a piece of wood)
spretch	to crack (as in eggs when they hatch)	?	cf Norwegian sprekk and Swedish sprikka (crack).
staddle, staddling	frame of posts and beams; foundations for a haystack	?	cf Swedish stadig (steady), Norwegian stadig (steady, settled, stable) and Icelandic stadur (placed (upon), to be standing on). Throughout England, the stones on which grain houses, etc., stand (often mushroom-shaped to prevent ingress by vermin) are known as staddle stones and this appears to be a related term. Also possibly related to the Standard English steady.
stang	pole, shaft, stake, wooden bar	stangar	See also biggerstang
stee, stey	ladder; stile over a wall or fence	stige
steg	male goose (gander)	steggi
steyl	handle, shaft	?	cf Norwegian stylte (stilt). Probably related to the Standard English stilts (posts, wooden supports).
stithy, stiddi	(blacksmith's) anvil	steði	May be related to the Standard English steady (see staddle, above).
stoop, stowp, stoup	post, gate-post, distance marker (milestone), standing stone	stolpi	Sometimes found as an element in place names (e.g. Yeadon Stoops)
storken	to set, to stiffen, to coagulate (especially when cooling down)	storkna
stour, stower	rung of a ladder; a stake or pole	staurr
strang	strong	strangr	May simply be a vowel change from the Standard English strong, but the close phonological similarity with the Old Norse suggests otherwise.
swarf, swarth	grit worn from a grindstone; mixture of grease and grit or metal particles (such as iron filings)	svarf	swarf is to be found in Standard English usage throughout the engineering industry, etc.
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tang	projecting part of a knife to which the handle is fixed	tange	To be found in Standard English usage and not, therefore, solely dialectal
tarn	lake or pond (especially in an upland location)	tjarn	Found mostly as an element in the names of landscape features, such as Malham Tarn.
teem	to pour out, to empty (especially to pour away a liquid but also unloading a cart, etc)	toema	Found in Standard English in such expressions as teeming down (raining heavily) and teeming with people, etc., but the more generalised usage to indicate emptying remains dialectal.
thoil	to be willing to give; to afford; to endure, tolerate, put up with	?	cf Icelandic þola, Swedish tåla (to brea, put up with), Norwegian tåle (to tolerate). Found in Scotland as thole. Probably all related to the Standard English tolerate, toleration, tolerable, etc.. Found in Yorkshire usually in expressions such as "I can't thoil it" (= "I would like to have it but can't bear to part with the money for it")
thorp(e), t(h)rop	village or small settlement	þorp	Now found only as an element in place names (e.g., Priesthorpe, Knostrop, etc) and as a family surname.
throng, thrang, threng	very busy, hard pressed, crowded out with work	?	cf Icelandic þröng, etc. (narrow, tightly pressed; compelled, forced [in the sense of being pressed to do something] ); trang (narrow), Swedish trång (narrow, tight). All probably related to the Standard English throng (crowded, to form a tightly-packed crowd, etc.).
thwait(e)	village or small settlement	tveit	Now found only as an element in place names (e.g., Linthwaite, Micklethwaite, etc) and as a family surname.
toft(s)	small farmstead with enclosed land; later applied to a village or small settlement	toft	Now found only as an element in place names (e.g., Altofts, Willitoft, etc) and as a family surname
thrums	ends cut from the warp thread while on the loom, during the weaving of woollen cloth (were at one time commonly used for home rug making)	throemr
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upskittle	to upturn, turn over, restore to upright position	?	cf Norwegian skyttle (shuttle). The Standard English shuttle means "..to send to and fro", hence, the shuttle of a loom which travels back and forth, which is a specialsed use of the term. skittles (the wooden pins which are knocked over by a ball then returned to their upright position) seems to be associated and share something of the same sense, as do shuttle service (in transport), shuttle diplomacy, etc. In all cases, the sense is one of being returned to an earlier place or position.
wapentake	historic sub-division of a shire county, with a periodic assembly at which freeman could vote by a show of weapons.	vapntak	The wapentakes in the Danelaw equated with the hundreds of the more southerly 'Saxon' counties. In Yorkshire, the wapentakes were sub-divisions of the Ridings and, though the latter were dismantled in 1974, wapentakes survive for some administrative/legal purposes. See also Riding.
whinny	gorse, furze, thorny vegetation	?	cf Norwegian hvine
wye	young cow up to about three years old	kviga
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yacker, acker	acre	akr	An acre is an ancient measurement of land, standardised now at 4840 square yards (0.4047  of a hectare). The measurement survives in British agriculture and acre is in use in Standard English, though the pronunciations given here are dialectal
yawd	horse of inferior breeding	jalda
yest	yeast	joestr	yeast is a Standard English word but the pronunciation given here is dialectal