Before entering this community, I belived "fettle" was an expression used only in the nortern region of Norway. Here it may be used in the context to fix, make or repair. It also could be used in the context of "full throttle", that being an engine of some sort. I have recently seen the expr used to describe the state of an ongoing party...It was interesting to learn that this expression is so relatively widely in use in the english lanquage. I belive it may origin from the Old Norse "fetill" which meant belt/strap or buckle, and so "to fettle up" originally could mean to strap on your pants as in getting dressed. Later it seems like its meaning may have evolved into "refine", as in small adjustments or corrections of an item in order to make a fit. Then "in fine fettle" it is used to describe a persons health or condition. I guess what I am trying to find out is what part of the world that should take credit for this fine word ☺
Oxford English states that it is late Middle English. Possibly German roots. Refers to a Girdle, Belt, Waist chain. Put on when dressing for Battle. Also used to describe removing the rough parts left from sand casting. So it looks as we can all claim this wonderful sounding word.
Language roots are interesting and here is an old Shetlandic word SAB it means to soak or saturate, it's roots are probably in old Norse, Jeff.
http://www.finedictionary.com/fettle.html That link gives a good few definitions - several in line with my own & the Norwegian meaning.
I guess ones take on the subject depends on how deep one is digging into the puzzle. Here is a screenshot from the book "The Northern Isles:Shetland and Orkney" by Alexander Fenton. Here he describes what I belive is some kind of horseback carrying device.
Fettling is used in the part of the motor industry I work in describing the finishing and cutting of fibreglass ,,, They couldn't use trimming as that describes the upholstering shop and would lead to a lot of confusion...
My family have lived on the Moray coastline in Scotland for quite some time but are originally of Danish origin. I grew up understanding that the word fettle meant to refine something, for example, if a car was running a little rough, it needed a fettle to get it running smoothly. While English is what may emanate from my vocal chords, my mind is filled with a mixture of English, Scots and a few dutch words my Grandmother would come out with. I have an hankering for some aebleskiver...
Some what?.. First heard about Fettling when as an apprentice was told to 'Go out and Fettle those Railings' ; Well, these railings had just come back from the galvanizers and if you've ever had to pick up a piece of freshly dipped steel you'll know, and next time you'll wear riggers an still have to be careful!!! As the job is slowly immersed in molton Zinc, then slowly lifted out, lots of lovely spikes form as the Zinc drips off an harden... If I was too heavy handed with the blunt File i was given to Fettle with I got a good clout to go with it an all !!!
Fettling means, effectively, 'to sort something out'. That covers our usage i.e. to fix or repair and also 'fine fettle' (in a good condition) as well as 'I'll fettle him' meaning to rectify someone's sub-optimal behaviour by some rigorous, though unspecified, means...
That's like when the family and I were on holiday in the UK a few years ago. Quite often people would ask if we were speaking dutch when we were actually speaking danish. To me there is a huge difference between the languages, but maybe not so for others who hear it.
Really? Dutch (and all of the languages that make up what is spoken in the Netherlands) is nothing like Danish, I find that odd. Double-dutch is a british expression meaning a language or phraseology you don't understand. My grandmother would speak in English, Scots, some, what I think, was old Danish or Norse and modern Danish, I didn't understand a lot of it. Oddly she never really used anything other than English or Scots when the rest of the family where around.
haknuts: I'm Sorry for hijacking your thread, but FWIW I agree with GAVIN W and SpiritBurner, all of us in Northern Europe have some claim to it.
Back to "fettling" I had to Google it to get a definition when I first joined here. The nearest I had heard in Victoria Australia was the railway track workers referred to as Fettlers.
That's odd - there's a definition given in the Forum introduction:- "Fettling Forum To Fettle = to fix, repair."
Well, if I might play the Devil's Avocado for a moment, that's a bit different, Derek. Everyone knows the elephant is in the room but they're all simply ignoring it. When it comes to reading stuff that's in plain view, it seems many folk simply don't. A good example is inserting images in posts - how many members just don't read and act on the red print in the File Manager instructions. All those instructions are important but the red bits are especially important! As I've remarked previously, you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it scuba-dive...
"I DID READ THAT" thank you David but when i had not heard fettle used in the sense of "to fix or repair" you can understand why I would want to understand it.
"I'm Sorry for hijacking your thread, but FWIW I agree with GAVIN W and SpiritBurner, all of us in Northern Europe have some claim to it." I guess the old Norse seeds that the gentle Vikings so carefully planted around, resulted in a variety of offsprings.
From 'Shogun' by James Clavell, set in 16th century Japan:- "He was scrutinising his falcons. Some were prating, some preening themselves, all in good fettle, all hooded except Kogo..." My Kindle gives the definition of fettle as follows:- fettle n. [mass noun] condition: Marguerite was in fine fettle. v. [with obj.] trim or clean the rough edges of (a metal casting or piece of pottery) before firing. N.ENGLISH make or repair (something). late Middle English (as a verb in the general sense 'get ready, prepare', specifically 'prepare oneself for battle, gird up'): from dialect fettle 'strip of material, girdle', from Old English fetel, of Germanic origin; related to German Fessel 'chain, band'. - Oxford Dictionary of English. So there you have it...
