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haaf. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
haaf, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
haaf in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
haaf you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From Old Norse haf (“the sea”). Cognate with Danish hav, Old English hæf (Etymology 2).
Pronunciation
Noun
haaf
- (fishing, Shetland, Scotland) the open sea, especially as a place to fish
1822, [Walter Scott], The Pirate. , volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC:The banks to which they repair for the haaf fishing, are often many miles distant from the station where the fish is dried; so that they are always twenty or thirty hours absent, frequently longer; and under unfavourable circumstances of wind and tide, they remain at sea, with a very small stock of provisions, and in a boat of a construction which seems extremely slender, for two or three days, and are sometimes heard of no more.
2003, Juliet Marillier, Foxmask (Saga of the Light Isles; 2), page 28:The haaf-boat was as well maintained as any vessel in the islands; her master had a reputation for thoroughness, for all he was barely twenty years of age.
- (fishing, Shetland) the practice of sea fishing for such as cod, ling and tusk
2005, James Coull, “7: The development of fishing communities with special reference to Scotland”, in Jonathan Potts, Hance D. Smith, editors, Managing Britain's Marine and Coastal Environment: Towards a Sustainable Future, page 145:Although men concentrated at the main haaf stations during the summer fishing season, they reverted to their homes in crofting townships for the remainder of the year.
Derived terms
Scots
Etymology
From Old Norse haf (“the sea”). Cognate with Danish hav, Old English hæf (Etymology 2).
Pronunciation
Noun
haaf (uncountable)
- (archaic, Northern Isles) the deep sea beyond coastal waters
- (fishing, Shetland) the deep-sea fishing carried out 30-40 miles offshore in open boats
- (fishing, Northern Isles) deep-sea fishing, especially for cod, ling, tusk, etc.
Derived terms
Further reading
- Eagle, Andy, editor (2024), “haaf”, in The Online Scots Dictionary
- Graham, John J (1979) “haaf”, in The Shetland Dictionary, Lerwick: Shetland Times Ltd, →ISBN
- Flaws, Margaret, Lamb, Gregor (1996) The Orkney Dictionary, Kirkwall, Orkney: Orkney Language and Culture Group, published 2001, →ISBN