haaf

American

[hahf] / hɑf /

noun

deep-sea fishing grounds off the Shetland and Orkney Islands.

haaf British

/ hɑːf /

noun

a deep-sea fishing ground off the Shetland and Orkney Islands

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of haaf

1785–95; < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse haf sea; cognate with Old English hæf; akin to heave

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When a group of haaf netters first arrives at the shore they "cast the mells", an intricate game which decides where each of them will be positioned.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2020

The number of haaf netters has dwindled since the 1970s, when there were more than 100 living in towns like Annan and Gretna.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2020

But he is worried the practice could soon die out unless the haaf netters are given some legal protection and some form of exemption to a ban on keeping the salmon that they catch.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2020

The lives and history of the haaf netters has been documented by the Solway Firth Partnership.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2020

Then it is both the haaf fishing you are speaking of just now and the small fishing in winter?-Yes.

From Second Shetland Truck System Report by Guthrie, William

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023