gjäl

gjäl

Westrobothnian

Etymology 1

Compare Gutnish gail, German geil, from Proto-Germanic *gailaz.

Adjective

gjäl

1. happy, cheerful, lively[1]
2. horny, unchaste, rutting; about people and animals

Etymology 2

By variation from Old Norse gerði (“fence.”) Compare Icelandic gerð, Old Norse gørð, and Westrobothnian nästgäl f (“packed lunch.”)

Noun

gjäl f (definite singular gjäla)

1. enclosure of cultivated soil, field

Derived terms

• baitesgjäl (“pasture”)
• korngjäl (“barley field”)
• råggjäl (“rye field”)
• säsgjäl (“cereal field”)

Etymology 3

Like Icelandic girða from Old Norse gerða, derived from gerði (“fence.”)

Verb

gjäl (preterite gjälä)

1. to fence, to enclose with fence, to build a fence around the property

Etymology 4

From Old Norse gerð, gørð (“deed,”) from Proto-Germanic *garwidō. Cognate to Norwegian gjær (“deed; custom, fashion, manner of doing something; nature, shape,”) Gutnish gärd (“deed,”) Icelandic gerð, gjörð (“act, action, etc.”)

Noun

gjäl f (definite singular gjäla)

1. custom, practice, habit

   Hä jär gjäla

   Such is the custom.

   Hä jär allti gjäla hä

   It’s always the case.

References

1. Rietz, Johan Ernst, “Gjäl”, in Svenskt dialektlexikon: ordbok öfver svenska allmogespråket [Swedish dialectal lexicon: a dictionary for the Swedish lects] (in Swedish), 1962 edition, Lund: C. W. K. Gleerups Förlag, published 1862–1867, page 189