Borrowed fromNornvollj, fromOld Norsevǫllr(“field”), fromProto-Germanic*walþuz(“forest”). TheOrkney dialectal termvole mouse, lit. “field mouse”, was introduced to general English byGeorge Barry in 1805;John Fleming in 1828 was first to refer to the creature by the epithetvole alone. Displaced earlier names for these species which also classified them as mice, e.g.short-tailed field mouse.
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Note: There is a systematic error in the entries below. "Vole" refers to hundreds of small rodent species living in all kinds of habitats. Many, but probably not all, of the translations refer to the "water vole", which is just one of the many species. When translating "vole" into other languages, one should look for words that refer to the voles as a group. Further details can be found on the Wikipedia articles on vole and on many of the species.
With humble curate can I now retire, (While good Sir Peter boozes with the squire,) And at backgammon mortify my soul, That pants for loo, or flutters at avole?
no lad shall chuck, or ladyvole, But some excising Courtier will have toll.
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition ofWebster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing. (See the entry for“vole”, inWebster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.:G. & C. Merriam,1913,→OCLC.)
This interjection is considered vulgar by some people, its primary meaning being "you ass"; however, it is today quite frequently used in very informal speech without any vulgar overtones, either as a friendly address or as an emphasizer; some people lard their talk with it without its having any meaning (similarly to the way some people use "fuck" in English, but "vole" is not so strong). It is often used in the form "ty vole".
Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor,A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published1867,page76
