Word of the week

• waith n. a piece of property which is found ownerless
• sourocks n. a general name for various kinds of sorrel; a sulky person
• begrutten adj. tear-stained, sorrowful
• scart v. scratch, scrape with the nails, claws; mark with a scratch etc
• jink v. turn quickly, move or dodge nimbly; evade, elude
• plunk v. to play truant, absent oneself (from school) without leave
• tawse n. a leather punishment strap with thongs, formerly used in schools
• darg n. (the result of product of) a day’s work
• braw adj. very good, excellent; handsome; splendid; brave
• scran n. food (scraps); refuse; odds and ends

Words by month

• Jul 2008
• Jun 2008
• May 2008
• Apr 2008
• Mar 2008
• Feb 2008
• Jan 2008
• Dec 2007
• Nov 2007
• Oct 2007
• Sep 2007
• Aug 2007
• Jul 2007
• Jun 2007
• May 2007
• Apr 2007
• Mar 2007
• Feb 2007
• Jan 2007
• Dec 2006
• Nov 2006
• Oct 2006
• Sep 2006
• Aug 2006
• Jul 2006
• Jun 2006
• May 2006
• Apr 2006
• Mar 2006
• Feb 2006
• Jan 2006

Sponsored by

Supporters of

earn n. an eagle

“earn n. an eagle”

14th April 2008

Earn (generally pronounced to rhyme with ‘learn’) has several variant spellings including yirn, which indicates an alternative pronunciation noted in the far north. Although it has the core meaning ‘eagle’, it has sometimes been used to refer to specific species such as the white-tailed or sea-eagle, particularly in Orkney and Shetland. The word is derived from two related terms, Old English earn and Old Norse orn, both also meaning ‘eagle’.

Earn is first recorded in Scots in texts dating from the fourteenth century. The Legends of the Saints (1380) remarks that "Sanct Ionne (John) in portratoure Of ane erne has the fygure". Medieval documents also remind us that eagles were not always protected by law. In 1604, the Sheriff Court Book of Shetland reported not only that "The eirnis and the corbeis (crows) continewalie sleais and destroyis the haile lambes", but that in one instance an entire household was to "slea the saidis airnis and corbeis".

Although it is rarely found in print in modern Scots, the term has been preserved in place-names, as was noted by George Sim in his book on The Fauna of Dee (1903): "That the Sea Eagle was resident and bred within our confines is indisputable, for along our coast line many rocks still retain the name of ‘Erne Heugh’ or ‘Erne Craig’". Heugh being a crag or precipice, and craig being a rock or cliff, both were naturally associated with eagles.

Any further information about the current use of this word would be of particular interest to Scottish Language Dictionaries, as our records only indicate patchy usage after about 1950. Please get in touch with us if you know the word earn or have heard it used. Readers’ comments are very much appreciated and are vital to our work with the living language.