Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1879-1952
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0]
NORALEG, n. Also norraleg (Sh. 1899 Shetland News (25 March)); reduced form norle (Jak.).
1. A needle (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl., 1908 Jak. (1928)), often one with a broken eye (Sh. 1964); a large pin, an awl (Jak.).Sh. 1879 Shetland Times (16 Aug.):
Ye maun gie me a auld noraleg.Sh. 1899 J. Spence Folk-Lore 123:
To cross witches above the breath, i.e. on the forehead, so as to draw their drörie with a steel noraleg, deprived them of their power to hurt.Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.:
As blind as dee ee av a noraleg.Sh. 1952 J. Hunter Taen wi da Trow 135:
Tho da peerie waand wis little — Biggar dan a norra-leg.
†2. The lower leg-bone of a pig, used in the making of a Snorick (Sh. a.1838 Jam. MSS. XII. 155, 1866 Edm. Gl.).
[Orig. uncertain. Jak. suggests *nálarleggr, from O.N. nál, a needle + leggr, a leg, with dissimilation of l; 2. may be a different word, from Nor, to snore, from the noise produced by a Snorick, + leggr.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Noraleg n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/noraleg>
