- derived from a Scandinavian word of similar meaning, a noup is a jutting or overhanging crag or mountain-top, or a steep headland or promontory. The word is known mainly in Orkney and Shetland, and is found in a number of Shetland place-names including the Noop of Noss, which features in Echoes from Klingrahool (1898), by the poet 'Junda' (James Stout Angus):
The moon hangs over the Noop of Noss
Like a golden shield with a silver boss.