History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 180

One by one they fell away until only Dundee and Peterhead were left in 1893, and
then the latter dropped out also.
6. 2.
Many of the words borrowed from Low Dutch on the whaling voyages are the names
of northern beasts and birds, the various species of whale and seal which the whalers
hunted, and the sea-birds they met in the northern seas.
Whalefish (c. 1511), a whale; ad. Du. or MLG. walvisch.
Walrus (1655), a large amphibious and carnivorous mammal of the northern seas, the
morse or sea-horse; probably from Du. walrus, walros; the OE. word was horshwael.
Narwhal (1658), the name of this whale of the northern seas was borrowed by the
Dutch, from Scandinavian seamen (cf. Da. narhval); the Eng. word is from the Du.
narwal.
Rubb (1694), a seal, is from the LG. rubbe (Du. rob).
Potwalfish (1694), potfish or cachalot; probably ad. e.mod.Du. potswalvisch, which
Kilian glosses as ‘cete’. A later name for the same whale is Potfish (1743), ad. Du.
potvisch; O.E.D. suggests that in this word pot is the same as in early Du. potshoofd,
thickhead, Flem. potshoofd, eelpout, in reference to the huge head.
Clapmatch (1743), a kind of seal; apparently ad. Du. klapmuts, a sailor's cap; so
called from the hood of the animal.
Nordcaper (1822), a North Atlantic species of whale; ad. Du. noordkaper or G.
nordkaper, from Du. noordkaap or G. nordkap, the North Cape, from the regions
where the beast is found.
The names of northern sea-birds are Rotge (1694), the little auk; Martens in his
Voyage to Spitzbergen (trans. 1694) gives this as the name current among Dutch and
Frisian seamen, with the statement that it is derived from the bird's cry, rottet tet, but it
is more likely a misunderstanding of Fris. rotgies, plural of rotgoes, brent goose; we
know that at this period the Dutch whaling trade was mainly in the hands of Frisians.
Mallemuck (1694), the fulmar or similar bird; ad. Du. mallemok, from mal, foolish, and
mok, gull; compare mallemaroking, which has the first element the same.
6. 3.
A group of words deals with the practice of whaling, the treatment of the whale's
carcass, and the products obtained from the whale.
Train oil (c. 1553), oil obtained by boiling the blubber of whales, and formerly also
seals, &c.; the lat W"