shieling

English

Alternative forms

• shealing, sheeling, shielin, sheilin, sheiling, sheelin

Etymology

From Scots shiel (“hut”) (from Old Norse skjól (“shelter, cover”)) +‎ -ing. Akin to Danish skjul (“cover”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃiːlɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -iːlɪŋ

Noun

shieling (plural shielings)

1. An area of summer pasture used for cattle, sheep etc.
   • 1997, ‘Egil's Saga’, translated by Bernard Scudder, The Sagas of Icelanders, Penguin, published 2001, page 182:

     The cattle at Mosfell were kept in a shieling, and Thordis stayed there while the Thing took place.

2. A shepherd's hut or shack.
   • 1836, Joanna Baillie, The Phantom, act 1:

     And what are twenty beds, when all the drovers,
     And all the shieling herdsmen from Bengorach,
     Must have a lair provided for the night.

   • 2002, Joseph O'Conner, Star of the Sea, Vintage, published 2003, page 39:

     Cabins and shielings had been torn down and burned.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:shealing.

Anagrams

• sheiling