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.
Quotation dates: 1700-1956
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NORROWAY, prop.n. Also nor(r)awa(y), norowa(y). Sc. forms and usages of Norway (I. and ne.Sc. 1964). Also attrib. [′nɔrəwə]Sc. 1700 Edb. Gazette (25–25 July):
The Charles of Borrowstounness, Thomas Aier Master from Norroway with Dales.Sc. 1734 J. Cockburn Letters (S.H.S.) 9:
I wish Capt. Mathie's Ship may gett in time for getting Norraway or Swedish fir Seed.Sc. 1803 Scott Minstrelsy III. 64:
To Noroway, to Noroway, To Noroway oer the faem.Ags. 1818 Scots Mag. (Feb.) 117:
Here Noroway is always talked of as the land to which witches repair for their unholy meetings.Kcd. 1914 J. C. Watt Mearns of Old 52:
Gales that travel from the hills of Norroway (as the name is pronounced by the fisher folk here).Ork. 1956 C. M. Costie Benjie's Bodle 138:
I got hid fae me folk that cam' fae Norraway.
Combs. and Phrs.: (1) Norrowa carpenter, a large wave, a breaker in the sea (see quot.); (2) Norway haddock, the bergylt, Sebastes marinus (Sh. 1899 Evans and Buckley Fauna Sh. 218, Sh. 1964); (3) Noraway kitt, a small tub or barrel of a type made in Norway or with Norwegian wood; (4) Norraway skafe, a small light boat, a skiff. See Skaff, n.2; (5) Norway trout, the bull trout, Salmo trutta; (6) Norawa wifie, the little auk, Alle alle; (7) Norway woodpecker, the great spotted woodpecker, Dryobates major (Sh. 1899 Evans and Buckley Fauna Sh. 103); (8) Norrowa yole, a light double-ended open fishing boat with a single square sail, of similar build to the Fowerereen, so called because the parts were prefabricated in Norway and exported to Shetland (Sh. 1964); (9) the Black Bull of Noroway, see Bull, n.3 and R. Chambers Pop. Rhymes (1870) 95 sqq. Phr. a voice like a Norowa' bull, a loud reverberating voice.(1) Abd. 1885 Folk-Lore Jnl. III. 306:
The large breakers that roll over a wreck on the beach go by the grim name of "Norrawa carpenters."(2) Sh. 1828 J. Fleming Brit. Animals 212:
In Zetland, where I have found it, it is termed Bergylt, or Norway Haddock.(3) Ork. 1747 in P. Ork. A.S. XII. 52:
2 litle noraway Kitts with covers.(4) Ork. 1771 P. Fea Diary (11 June):
Jas. Cursater dressing my Norraway skafe.(5) em.Sc. 1836 W. Yarrell Fishes (1859) I. 236:
[The bull trout] . . . is said by Mr. White to be the Norway trout of the Fishermen in the firth of Forth.(6) Bnff. 1850 in S. Smiles Sc. Naturalist (1876) 248:
The bird is known in our locality by the curious term of the "Nor-a-wa wifie", from the suppositon that it comes from Norway.(9) Sc. c.1800 J. Leyden Remains (1819) 85:
A wild fanciful popular tale of enchantment, termed "The Black Bull of Noroway".Rnf. 1835 D. Webster Rhymes 42:
This Will has a voice like a Norawa' bull.
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"Norroway prop. n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 7 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/norroway>


