Espyne, sb. a long boat. Bruce, XVII, 719. O. N. espingr, a ship's boat, Sw. esping.
Ettil, etil, sb. aim, design. Douglas, II, 249, 13; II, 254. See ettil vb.
Etlyng, sb. aim, endeavor, intention. Bruce, II, 22; I, 587; R.R., 1906. Probably a deriv. from ettle, see below, but cp. O. N. etlun, design, plan, intention.
Ettle, ettil, vb. to intend, aim at, attempt. O. N. ætla, intend, O. Dan. ætlæ, ponder over, Norse etla, intend, determine, or get ready to do a thing. Cu. ettle, York, attle. In Isaiah, LIX, colophon, ettle signifies "means, have the meaning."
Falow, vb. to match, compare. R. R., 3510. Also the regular form of the sb. in Sco., O. N. félagr. See Skeat, B-S under fēlaȝe. The Sco. vowel is long as in O. N. and M. E. The tendency in Sco. is toward a in a great many words that have e in Eng. Cp. Aberdeen wast for west; laft for left; stap for step; sattlit for settled, S. Sco. wat for wet. Similar unfronting of the vowel is seen in prenciple, reddance, enterdick.
Fang, vb. to catch, seize. O. N. fanga, to fetch, capture. Norse fanga, Dan. fange. This word in Northern England and Scotland is to be regarded as a Scand. loan-word. The word fangast, a marriageable maid, cited by Wall, proves this. Literally the word means something caught (cp. Norse fangst). This meaning could not possibly have arisen out of the O. E. word, but is explained by the Norse use of it and the peculiar Norse custom, cp. fanga kǫnu, to wed a woman, kvan-fang, marriage, fangs-tið, wedding-season, Norse bryllöp < brudlaup, the "bride-run." Wall suggests that it may come from the root of O. E. pp. gefangen. Its presence in S.Eng. diall. in the meaning "to struggle, to bind," may be explained in this way.
Farandness, sb. comeliness, handsomeness. R.R., 1931. See farrand. Cp. cunnandness, from pr. p. cunnand.
Farrand, adj. appearing, generally well-appearing, handsome, e.g., a seemly farrand person. The word frequently means "fitting, proper," O. N. fara, to suit, to fit, a secondary sense of fara, to go.
Feir, fer, adj. sound, unharmed. O. N. færr, safe, well, in proper condition, originally applied to a way that was in proper condition or a sea that was safe, e.g., Petlandsfjörðr var eigi færr, the Pentland Firth was not safe, could not be crossed. Norse før also has this same meaning, also means "handy, skillful," finally "strong, well-built." Dan., Sw. för, able. So in Dunbar, 258, 51. Sometimes spelled fier.