Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1971, Side 113

Some Notes on Faroese Bird Names
121
garg n. “skrig, (is.) Fugleskrig”, and garga v. “1. skrige (om
Fugle).” M. A. Jacobsen og Chr. Matras, Føroysk-donsk or'ða-
bók, Tórsh. 1961, has the folílowing imceresting words referring
to the voice of the common guillemot: “karr interj. (og n), efter-
ligning af lomviens skrig”, and “karra -aði, (om lomvien)
skrige”. The same verb karra is found in Norwegian in re-
ference to bird voices, partioularly that of the ptarmigan.
Taking into account the subjective perception of the voice
of the puffin (and other birds), as demonstrated above, it
would seem reasonable to assume the (earlier) existence of a
sound-imitating verb *karka which characterizes the sounds
made by the puffin, and also an agent noun *karki m., the
genitive of which forms the first component in karka-rassur.
Náti
Náti m., also found in the form náta f., is a Faroese name
for a) the fulmar or b) the nestling fulmar. According to
Lockwood (Far. Bird Names, p. 54) the name has no parallel
elsewhere. It is possible, however, that we have a parallel in
Icelandic hnáta f. This word is used locally in Iceland in the
meaning “little, chubby girl”. Hnáta is a cognate of Icelandic
hnat n. “tuft of wool”, other related words are probably
Icelandic (and Faroese) knóttur m. “ball”, and variants of
this word in Norwegian knatt, natt, knott, nott with
samantically related meanings, (Alex. Jóhannesson, Isl. Etym.
Wórterbuch, p. 333).
The meaning of hnáta in Icelandic, referring particularly
to a girl, is of oourse secondary. The original meaning ob-
viously refers to the small size and round apperance of an
object, and if we suppose that Icelandic hnáta is a cognate
of Faroese náti, náta, this meaning would apply perfectly to
the nestling fulmar, whioh is indeed a puffylooking little
creature. Lockwood has also suggested, for different reasons,
that the name originally applied to the nestlings: “The name
appears to have spread north (from SuSuroy) with the spread
of the fulmars themselves as nesting birds, being taken over
9 — Fróðskaparrit