Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
LEANGER, n. A tax in Shetland deriving from a duty annually exacted by the Norwegian crown as a war-contribution and payable under Scottish rule until the early 18th c. (Sh. 1716 G. Goudie Antiq. Shet. (1904) 176, 184). Hist.Sh. 1921 Old-Lore Misc. IX. i. 58:
Orkney “Forcop” corresponds with Shetland “leanger”, and it is now suggested that the original name for both was leiðangrs fararkaup, the board-wages of the levy, which is the genuine and only skatt.
