Akrinatjørn, Mølbursvatn and Mølheyggjarnir – three place-names by Sandur on Sandoy

Abstract

Three place-names near the village of Sandur are discussed, and suggestions made as to their interpretation. The first element of Akrinatjørn ‘Akrinatarn’ is explained as the plant-name akurull (Eriophorum angustifolium). The Mølbur- of Mølbursvatn ‘Mølburswater’ is seen as a reflex of *Melberði, compounded of ON melr m. ‘gravel-bank’ and *berði n., a derivative of barð n. ‘edge, rim’; the original name of this lake was thus probably *Melberðisvatn. It is further suggested that the first element of the name Mølheyggjarnir ‘the Møl heights’ also comes from an original melr rather than møl f. The confusion of e and ø in Mølbursvatn and Mølheyggjarnir is to be seen in the light of the delabialisation that characterises the dialect of this area.