Orkney

English

Etymology

From Old Norse Orkneyjar (“seal islands”), from Old Norse ørkn (“seal”) + ey (“island”). The modern form is singular. Norwegian settlers reinterpreted the original Pictish tribal name element orc (meaning "young pig") as their similarly-shaped native word for seal and added their word for island.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɔː(ɹ)kni/
Audio (Southern England) (file)

Proper noun

Orkney

Ellipsis of Orkney Islands.
A historical county of Scotland, United Kingdom.

Derived terms

Anagrams

Yonker, yonker

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