- this term was often used in place-names to denote a piece of pasturage on which a shepherd's hut was built, but it could also mean the hut itself. The same variation in meaning occurs for shieling. A dated but informative definition is given by William Gardiner in The Flora of Forfarshire (1848):
A shieling, or shiel, is a small rude hut or cottage, constructed for the accommodation of shepherds during the summer months they reside among the mountains. It is built of turf or rough stones, and generally thatched ... the fire is lighted on the floor, and an opening in the roof, at one end of the dwelling, is deemed quite sufficient for the egress of the smoke.