haaf

English

Alternative forms

• haave

Etymology

From Old Norse haf (“the sea”). Cognate with Danish hav, Old English hæf (Etymology 2).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɑf/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑf

Noun

haaf

1. (fishing, Shetland, Scotland) the open sea, especially as a place to fish
   • 1822, [Walter Scott], The Pirate. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC:

     The banks to which they repair for the haaf fishing, are often many miles distant from the station where the fish is dried; so that they are always twenty or thirty hours absent, frequently longer; and under unfavourable circumstances of wind and tide, they remain at sea, with a very small stock of provisions, and in a boat of a construction which seems extremely slender, for two or three days, and are sometimes heard of no more.

   • 2003, Juliet Marillier, Foxmask (Saga of the Light Isles; 2), page 28:

     The haaf-boat was as well maintained as any vessel in the islands; her master had a reputation for thoroughness, for all he was barely twenty years of age.

2. (fishing, Shetland) the practice of sea fishing for such as cod, ling and tusk
   • 2005, James Coull, “7: The development of fishing communities with special reference to Scotland”, in Jonathan Potts, Hance D. Smith, editors, Managing Britain's Marine and Coastal Environment: Towards a Sustainable Future, page 145:

     Although men concentrated at the main haaf stations during the summer fishing season, they reverted to their homes in crofting townships for the remainder of the year.

Derived terms

• haaf net
• haaf netting

 

Scots

Alternative forms

• haaff, haf, haff

Etymology

From Old Norse haf (“the sea”). Cognate with Danish hav, Old English hæf (Etymology 2).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɑ(ː)f/

Noun

haaf (uncountable)

1. (archaic, Northern Isles) the deep sea beyond coastal waters
2. (fishing, Shetland) the deep-sea fishing carried out 30-40 miles offshore in open boats
3. (fishing, Northern Isles) deep-sea fishing, especially for cod, ling, tusk, etc.

Derived terms

• haaf boat
• haaf fish
• haafin
• haafman
• haivel
• halve-net

 

Further reading

• Eagle, Andy, editor (2025), “haaf”, in The Online Scots Dictionary‎^[1]
• Graham, John J (1979) “haaf”, in The Shetland Dictionary‎^[2], Lerwick: Shetland Times Ltd, →ISBN
• Flaws, Margaret, Lamb, Gregor (1996) The Orkney Dictionary, Kirkwall, Orkney: Orkney Language and Culture Group, published 2001, →ISBN