Orkney
Orkneys (ˈɔːknɪz) or Orkney Islands
- a group of over 70 islands off the N coast of Scotland, separated from the mainland by the Pentland Firth: constitutes an island authority of Scotland; low-lying and treeless; many important prehistoric remains. Administrative centre: Kirkwall. Pop: 19 310 (2003 est). Area: 974 sq km (376 sq miles)Related word: Orcadian
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Examples from the Web for orkney
Contemporary Examples
Over 75 percent of the staff of the Hudson Bay Company was from Orkney alone.
It was not easy to find a copy of The Pirate in Orkney this year.
Historical Examples
There has not been such good times in Orkney since I was born, as there is now.
An Orkney MaidAmelia Edith Huddleston Barr
Dissection of a small Cetacean sent to me from Orkney in the month of May 1835.
Arms or inlets of the sea, or sounds, in the Shetland and Orkney Isles.
The Sailor's Word-BookWilliam Henry Smyth
On the subject of the Orkney servants of the Company all critics were not agreed.
The Great CompanyBeckles Willson
But the news from Orkney, Bryce, instead of croaking about a capful of wind?
The PirateSir Walter Scott
Word Origin and History for orkney
Orkney
name of a group of islands off the north coast of Scotland, from Old Norse Orkney-jar "Seal Islands," from orkn "seal," probably imitative of its bark. Related: Orkneyman.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper