Shetland en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈʃɛtlənd/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Scots Shetland, Middle Scots Ȝetland, from Old Norse Hjaltland, by surface analysis, hjalt (“hilt”) + land (“land”). Andrew Jennings suggests the name derives from the tribal name Calēdonēs (as in Caledonia), considering the geographer Ptolemy already called the sea north of Scotland ὠκεανός Δουηκαλεδονίος (ōkeanós Douēkaledoníos); if this is correct, the borrowing into Germanic would need to have occurred at such an early date that it took part in the Germanic sound-shift, changing *kalid- to *halit-, after which it underwent folk etymological reshaping to Old Norse hjalt (“hilt”).
Meanings
- (uncountable) A particular breed of pony.
- (countable) A pony of this breed.
- (uncountable) A particular breed of sheep.
- (countable) A sheep of this breed.
-
(alt-of, uncountable) Alternative letter-case form of shetland: light, loose wool fabric.
alt of shetland
[…] I'll tell you what else is a fact. It's a fact that he is wearing his blue Shetland turtle-neck today. Even as we speak his body is moving inside it. Warm and quick. It's more than flesh and blood can stand.
1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section I, page 17:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shetlands | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| Zetland | alternative | lexicographic |
Synonyms
Shetland pony (pony) · Shetland pony (breed of pony)