/ · 1894 Brewer’s · O · Orkneys
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Either the Teutonic Orkn-cys (the water or islands of the whirlpool), in allusion to the two famous whirlpools near the Isle of Swinna; or else the Norwegian Orkeyjar (northern islands), the Hebrides being the Sudreyjar, or southern islands.
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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.
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