Twatt is a settlement in the parish of

Birsay Birsay () (Old Norse: ''Birgisherað'') is a parish in the north west corner of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. Almost all the land in the parish is devoted to agriculture: chiefly grassland used to rear beef cattle. There are various ancient ...

on the

Mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

of the

Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, Scotland. It was previously the location of

RNAS Twatt (HMS Tern) RNAS Twatt (HMS Tern) is a former Royal Navy Air Station located near Twatt, Orkney, Scotland. Twatt was mainly used as a training airfield. On 30 March 1944 initial plans were to make Twatt the only airfield suitable to aid the disembarkation of ...

,1940–1949. Twatt is situated at the junction of the A986 and the A967.

Etymology

Old wartime relics at Twatt aerodrome - geograph

The settlement name originates from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''þveit'', meaning 'small parcel of land'. The Norse word commonly produces in England the place name element Thwaite. The name Twatt is similar to the common

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

expletive "

twat "Twat" is an English-language vulgarism which means the vulva or vagina, and is used figuratively as a derogatory epithet. In British English, it is a common insult referring to an obnoxious or stupid person regardless of gender; in American ...

", an insult used to express contempt or derision for a person. The village's name featured at number four in a list of the most vulgar-sounding names in ''

Rude Britain ''Rude Britain'' (subtitled ''100 Rudest Place Names in Britain'') is a 2005 book of British place names with seemingly rude or offensive meanings. The book () is written by Rob Bailey and Ed Hurst, and published in the United Kingdom by the P ...

'', along with its Shetland counterpart. There is also an Upper Twatt Road on the island in

Stenness Stenness (pronounced ) ( non, Steinnes; nrn, Stennes) is a village and parish on the Orkney Mainland in Scotland. It contains several notable prehistoric monuments including the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar. Geography S ...

Local services

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

opened at Twatt on 1 November 1879. It closed on 10 April 2002.Forster, Ken: "Goodbyes & hellos", ''Stamp Magazine'', September 2002, page 46.

References

External links

Buildings at Risk - Control Tower, Twatt Aerodrome
Villages on Mainland, Orkney {{Orkney-geo-stub