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A wirds

88 wirds

aauxiliary verb
/AH/
Dialectal auxiliary have for perfect
“We a seen a selkie.”
aadeterminer
/AH/
each member of a group
“Aa daes thair bit.”
aaberadjective
/AHB-er/
Eager and enthusiastic; keen to join
“He's aaber tae come alang.”
aaberknotnoun
/AH-ber-not/
knot charged with supernatural power
“She tied an aaberknot roond the bairn's wrist.”
aabodypronoun
/AA-BUH-dee/
every single person, all people
“Aabody's gaen thegither for a blether.”
aafiladverb
/AA-fil/
intensifier meaning very or extremely
“Da wind is aafil cauld.”
aaldadjective
/AALD/
old; lived or existed for long
“Da aald man aye sits bi da voe”
aald daanoun
/AALD-DAA/
one's grandfather; father's or mother's father
“Aald daa aye telt guid yarns.”
aalie lambnoun
/AA-lee LAMB/
older
“Did ye see da aalie lamb oan da brae?”
aamosnoun
/AA-mos/
older
“She gaed an aamos efter the bairn cam hame.”
aandoonoun
/AHN-doo/
older
“Ah'll aandoo tae the shop.”
aarinoun
/AAR-ee/
Sharp, unpleasant taste; acrid, biting
“Da jam's aari, I canna eat it.”
aarisayverb
/AHR-ee-say/
to feel dislike or aversion
“I aarisay da new fella”
aathingnoun
/AA-thing/
the whole lot of things
“Da aathing's daan noo.”
abönpreposition
/ah-BOHN/
situated above; at a higher level
“Da hoose is abön da brae.”
abootpreposition
/UH-BOOT/
during a time period
“A met him aboot the mornin.”
achinterjection
/AHKH/
brief exclamation expressing annoyance or dismissal
“Ach, awa wi ye!”
achtnoun
/AKHT/
cherished personal possession; treasured item
“Da acht's aye wi' me”
acquantadjective
/UH-KWANT/
Familiar with; having dealings with someone
“A'm no acquant wi 'im.”
admireverb
/ad-MY-er/
to astonish or take by surprise
“Da whale admire me, I wis fair stunnit.”
aernoun
/AIR/
Oar for rowing; means tiny amount
“Gie me the aer an I'll lowe ye in.”
aertnoun
/AYRT/
ground, soil, the land surface
“Aw'll gie the aert a turn the morn.”
aert barknoun
/AYRT-BARK/
roots of the tormentil plant
“Ah fand aert bark oan da moor.”
aert bilenoun
/AIRT-BEEL/
soft, waterlogged patch that gives way
“Mind yer fit, there's aert bile by the burn.”
aert fastadjective
/AIRT-fast/
firmly fixed into the ground
“Yon stane's aert fast i' the voe”
aert kentadjective
/AYRT-KENT/
widely known by many people
“Da's aert kent”
aeshinsnoun
/AY-shins/
inner eaves at top of wall
“Thae aeshins need paint.”
aestardnoun
/AY-stard/
Direction toward the east; eastward
“Gang aestard noo”
aesterverb
/AY-ster/
to veer eastward, of wind
“Da wind wull aester by morn”
aetnoun
/AYT/
restless excitement and eager anticipation
“She's fair aet aboot the new lambs.”
aetmellnoun
/AET-mel/
Finely ground oats for porridge
“Gie us a bowl o aetmell noo.”
aetsnoun
/AYTS/
Oats used for porridge and feed
“Ah'll mak a bowl o aets noo.”
affadverb
/AFF/
Shetland form of 'off'
“She's aff tae da shop.”
affbiddenadjective
/AF-bid-en/
uninviting and off-putting in appearance
“That hoose is affbidden, nae wan'll gae near't.”
affcuttinsnoun
/AF-KUT-inz/
cow's hind leg jointed sections
“Da coo's affcuttins are sair.”
afflaynoun
/AF-lay/
ready, fluent flow of speech
“She's fu' o' afflay the day.”
affroadverb
/AFF-rohd/
deter someone from taking action
“Shi affroad me frae takkin the ferry.”
affrontverb
/uh-FRUNT/
to become ashamed or embarrassed
“Hoo affront an hid hir face”
affrugnoun
/AFF-rug/
rush of water returning seaward after waves
“Da affrug gaes ower da stane.”
afftaknoun
/AF-tak/
A cutting, mocking sarcastic remark
“She gied him an afftak”
aforepreposition
/uh-FOR/
Before in time or order
“He cam afore me tae the fair”
aftadverb
/AFT/
on many occasions; frequently
“He gangs aft tae da shop”
aftestadverb
/AFT-est/
more often than not, usually
“Aftest aa gae tae da shop.”
aggleverb
/AG-uhl/
to make dirty or grubby
“Dinna aggle the new frock; ye've been oot on the peat.”
agmentnoun
/AG-muhnt/
nervous agitation and mental unease
“He's aye agment afore a meetin.”
ahintpreposition
/uh-HINT/
at the back; behind something
“Da boat's ahint da pier.”
aidge o a timeadverb
/AYJ-uh-ah-TYM/
happens now and then; occasionally
“Ah gang tae Lerwick aidge o a time.”
ajeeadjective
/uh-JEE/
slightly open; not fully closed
“Da door was ajee when Ah cam hame.”
akkadörverb
/AHK-AH-dur/
to bear hardship without complaining
“A'll akkadör it.”
akkernoun
/AHK-er/
broken fragments; ruined remains of something
“Da gale left nane but akker.”
alamootienoun
/AL-uh-MOO-tee/
small storm petrel seabird skimming sea
“Yon alamootie skims alang the wake.”
alannoun
/AL-uhn/
predatory seabird that steals food
“Ah saw alan nabbin fish frae the gulls.”
alaneadjective
/UH-LAYN/
By oneself; without any company
“A'm alane the nicht.”
alessconjunction
/AH-less/
except if; introduces a conditional exception
“Ah'll gang oot, aless it teems.”
almarknoun
/AHL-mark/
sheep that breaks out of fences
“Da almark's aye oot on da muir.”
ammerswaknoun
/AM-er-SWAK/
restless, unsettled state of agitation
“Ther's ammerswak amang da folk.”
ampnoun
/AHMP/
tense, watchful, awaiting trouble
“She's aye amp when the wind's up.”
an aaadverb
/AHN-AH/
also, in addition, too
“A'll hae a scone, an aa a cuppa.”
ankernoun
/ANG-ker/
traditional Shetland liquid measure about 38 litres
“Gie's an anker o whisky.”
annsnoun
/ANZ/
heavier fragments of chaff and straw
“Gie the anns tae the kye”
anseverb
/AHNS/
obey or carry out instructions
“He'll anse da skipper's ordurs.”
antverb
/AHNT/
pay attention to; give heed
“Ant whit Ah telt ye.”
antrinadjective
/AN-trin/
occurring occasionally; not regular
“He cums antrin tae da shop.”
anunderpreposition
/AN-uhn-der/
down below; beneath; under something
“Da cat's anunder da bed”
anyatwartadjective
/AN-yuh-twart/
Fickle and contrary; often about weather
“Da weather's aye anyatwart.”
anyisternoun
/AN-ee-ster/
young female sheep not yet lambed
“Da anyister's aw skairt o' the collie.”
anyochadjective/adverb
/AN-yokh/
Enough to meet the need
“Da's anyoch for noo.”
appearancenoun
/uh-PEER-uhns/
a sign indicating presence of something
“Da appearance o' gulls at da pier aye means oor bait's near.”
apperverb
/AP-er/
to delay or hold back
“Dinna apper him noo, he'll miss the ferry.”
applöseverb
/AP-LOH-suh/
To present or put something forward
“A'll applöse da new rota efter brekfast.”
argie bargienoun
/AR-jee BAR-jee/
noisy, petty quarrel or squabble
“Dey hed an argie bargie aboot the boat.”
arknoun
/AHRK/
very large chest; unusually big thing
“Da farmer's got an ark o a tractor.”
arlverb
/AHRL/
crawl or creep along weakly
“Da crab arl alang da strand”
arvinoun
/AR-vee/
small white-flowered common garden weed
“Thar's arvi aal alang da dyke.”
asconjunction
/AZ/
introduces second element in comparison
“He's bigger as me”
asknoun
/AHSK/
thin mist or light coastal fog
“An ask's hingin ower the voe.”
asoondadjective
/uh-SOOND/
Unconscious, senseless, knocked out
“He lay asoond efter the whallop.”
atrelative pronoun
/AHT/
introduces clause referring to persons or things
“Da lass at sings is fra Lerwick”
atfirtsnoun
/AT-FIRTS/
mischievous capers; playful, spirited antics
“Da bairns hae been atfirts aboot da hoose.”
atteriadjective
/AT-uh-ree/
bitter and piercingly cold weather
“Da wind's atteri the day.”
atweenpreposition
/uh-TWEEN/
in the space between two things
“Da boat's atween twa skerries.”
atween da bed an da fireprepositional phrase
/uh-TWEEN-da-BED-an-da-FIE-er/
partly incapacitated, not fully well
“She's atween da bed an da fire the noo.”
avaadverb
/AH-vuh/
in any way; to any extent
“A dinna ken ava o that.”
axverb
/AKS/
to request information or permission
“Kin Ah ax ye summat?”
ayeinterjection
/EYE/
A Shetland dialect word for yes
“Aye, A'll dae it.”
ayrenoun
/EYE-er/
narrow shingle or sandy beach
“A'm gaen tae the ayre the morn”
azenoun
/AYZ/
large bright flame or burning fire
“Fowk gaed oot tae see da aze.”
azinadjective
/AHZ-in/
Burning fiercely; alight and blazing
“Da hoose's azin!”