Jan de Groote was a Dutch trader who settled in Caithness back in the fourteenth or fifteenth century. He operated a ferry to Orkney after the Norse gave the islands back to the Scots.
The Caithness dialect word for stomach - 'boug' - strongly resembles the Dutch equivalent - 'boik'. I've often suspected there's a link through old Jan.
The Caithness dialect word for stomach - 'boug' - strongly resembles the Dutch equivalent - 'boik'. I've often suspected there's a link through old Jan.