What does caa mean?
"Caa" is a regional English verb, surviving today mainly in Scots and Northern English dialect — above all in Orkney and Shetland — where it means to call or summon, most often by shouting to livestock such as sheep, cattle, or hens. A farmer might caa the ewes in from a hillside or caa the hens at feeding time, and the word can also extend to calling out to people. It should not be confused with "caw," the harsh cry of a crow, though the two share distant origins in Old Norse "ká." Because "caa" remains firmly rooted in rural speech rather than standard usage, it carries an earthy, traditional connotation and functions as a linguistic fossil: a reminder of how much everyday farm vocabulary in northern Britain descends directly from the language of Norse settlers. For most readers, meeting "caa" is less about adding a new word to daily conversation than about glimpsing the deep Scandinavian layer beneath the English spoken around the North Sea.
verbTo call or summon, especially by shouting or crying out, as in calling cattle, sheep, or poultry.
- To call or shout to (livestock, especially sheep and cattle) so as to gather or direct them.
- To call out or summon a person, in broader dialectal use.
"The crofter stepped into the field to caa the ewes in before dusk."
"She stood at the gate, ready to caa the lambs back to their mothers."
""Caa them in!" he shouted across the field as the light began to fade."
A living fragment of Old Norse, "caa" has been used to herd sheep and call livestock across the Northern Isles for centuries — yet it appears in hardly any modern dictionaries.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of caa
"Caa" derives from Old Norse "ká," which denoted a crow's or other bird's call and gave rise both to this dialectal verb of calling animals and to its standard-English relative "caw." The word entered the dialects of northern Britain through Norse settlement, taking firmest root in Orkney and Shetland, where Scandinavian influence on speech was deepest and longest lasting. Its close association with livestock herding reflects the practical farming vocabulary those settlers brought with them, preserved over centuries of oral use.
How caa is actually used
"Caa" belongs chiefly to rural Scots and Northern English speech, particularly in Orkney and Shetland, where Norse-derived farming vocabulary persisted long after elsewhere. It is informal and regional rather than standard English, and readers outside these areas are unlikely to encounter it except in dialect writing or glossaries.
Easily confused with caa
"Caw" is the hoarse cry of a crow or rook, whereas "caa" is a dialectal verb meaning to call or summon people or animals.