I ^
u
'ì:^9*'
EsLjyii:*si>n.rìL X
FACLAIR 6AIDHLIG,
ANNS AM BHEIL NAFACAILGHAIDKUGUILE
•8 NA LEABHEAICHEAN A LEANAS :
raclair Armstrong
a' rhomuinn Ghaidhealaich Mb cAilpein Ml icBheahamn Mì.icF.ach-i. rn MliicLeò'd&Deò-r Alnme»n Gài Jhiig Roiii (M.-i.-Fhrar^haH Ghalair (MftcGh U'Io.s') ,, „ Lusan (Camshion)
▲QU.S lOMADH LEABHAR EILB.
•GAOiL AN SOLUa
AIR A CFUR A MACH IE
E. DOMIINULI.ACH 'S A
OHT'IDEACHD.
aiga'Chlòd;i-Ch àr Ghàidhlig Ardmòr.
('kfnt)
rr BfJ-^HKDBT
E. MÀCDON \Ln & CO.,
at the Gaelic Press,
Ardmòr.
namn
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air son nan sgoiltean.
AG us
A H-UILE FACAL ANNS NA FACLAIREAN GÀIDHLIG KILK,
LE lOMADH CEUD NACII FlIAIGHEAR AN UIN DHIUBH,
ACH A CllAIDlI A THIONAL BHO LUCHD-BBUIDHINN AGUS
SGOILEARAN NA OÀIDHLIG ANNS GAGH CEARN.
AIR A CIIUR A MACH LE K. DOMHNULLACH 'S A CHD., AIG a' CHLÒDH-CHLÀR GHÀIDHLIG.
1902— \_Rinneadh am paipear seo an Alhainn^
?i6
GAELIC DICTIONARY
srECIALLY DESIGNED FOR BEGINNERS AND FOR USE IN SCHOOLS.
Profusely illustrated,
and contains every Gaelic word in all the Dictionaries hitherto published, besides many hundreds collected from Gaelic-speakers and scholars all over the world, and and now printed for the first time.
Heme 38apt
PTJBLISHED BY E. MACDONALD & CO., AT THE GAELIC PRESS.
1902—
\_This paper was made in Scotland.'^
a2
ROIMH-RADH.
(PEEEACE.)
HE vocabulary of this Dictionary is based on rhat of MacLeod and Dewar, so much ap- preciated by Gaelic students. All the words not appearing in that work, but to be found in any of our other Gaelic Dictionaries, are also included here, besides many hundreds of words which now appear in print for the lirst time. All the names of Plants, Diseases, Birds, &c., collected from various special works on those subjects, together with all the examples of proverbs, idiomatic phrases, &c., given by MacAlpine, have been included, and many additional ex- amples have been added from Carmina Gadelìca^ and other sources.
MacLeod & Dewar's and Armstrong's are, without doubt, the best all-round dictionaries hitherto available for students, especially when requiring to translate English into Gaelic. There are various small defects in these works, however, which we have attempted to rectify. In the former work, many words are out of alphabetical or- der, a word is often spelt differently in the two parts and even in the same part, and in many cases words occuring in the English-Gaelic part are not to be found in the Gaelic -English and vice versa. The last remark also applies in a peculiar degree to MacAlpine's work. The word darsach does not appear at all in the Gaelic part of MacLeod & Dewar's, nor kilt in the English part ! The large size of Armstrong's Dictionary makes it unportable and awkward to handle, and its high price, like that of the Highland Society's, has always kept it out of the reach of the bulk of Gaelic students. It has now been out of print for many years.
Should any word required not be found in its proper alpliabetical order, reference sliould be made to the appen- dix, as great numbers of words were; received, especially after the issue of Part II., from sources not available before that part was published.
This is the first Dictionary of the Gaelic language in which an attempt has been made to explain words by means of diagrams, and the first in which especial care has been taken in collecting localisms, the names of old High- land implements, &c., and their parts, many of which are now only to be found in one or two remote parishes of the "Western Isles, from which they are fast disappearing. The lists of technical terms here given have never been published before, and the M^hole of the illustrations, with one or two exceptions, have been specially drawn for the wwk.
This Dictionary is of especial value to the beginner. ]\rauy who did not learn the language in infancy, but ac- quired it in later life through the medium of books, have notified us of the difficulties of grammar and idiom they met with. Such difficulties are likely to puzzle other novices, and have therefore been explained under their ap- propriate headings. Grammatical difficulties have been elucidated by good Gaelic scholars, and no labour has been spared to make the work as complete and reliable as possible.
Some scholars object to some of the words given in other Dictionaries as being Irish and not Scottish Gaelic, but the difference between the Irish and the Soots is geographical only and not racial, as the records of both amply and abundantly prove. Both call themelves " Gàidheal '' in their own language, and fraternize in- stantly, as soon as English, the language of disunion is dropped. Any difference between them is more imagin- ary than real, and has been invented and assiduously ac- centuated for political reasons only, on the old and barbar- ous plan of '* Divide and rule.'* Many of these so-called Irish words are in use in Cantyre and appear in the Bible, and the close similarity the Gaelic speech of the West of
Scotland has to that of the North of Ireland (much closer than the native English of places not farther removed from each other and with no sea between them) makes the in- terchange of words easy and often convenient. Many of those who condemn the use of what they call "Irish" words, have no scruple in introducing English and Broad Scots words, which they try to pronounce and write according to Gaelic rules, apparently to make their identity somewhat obscure, when there are already two or three native Gaelic words much more to the point. What would a French- man say if addressed " How vous portez yourself ?'' Yet that is no more absurd than " an do ring thu am bell ? '' which may be heard in most parts of Gaeldom at any time !
A few correspondents have found fault with this work as being too crowded, in places, with obsolete or English words, but only those given in other Dictionaries figure here, although more prominence has been given to the character of Anglicisms. Words marked obsolete by some, may have often been obsolete for a long period in the dis- tricts to which the compilers of those particular Dictionaries belonged, while still used in other parts ! Further, the usual rule hitherto adopted in Gaelic Dictionaries with regard to English words in Gaelic dress has been thus —
clarc, s.m. A clerk. Sometimes Eng. or Eng. word is added, but not often. A new system has been adopted here, and all such words have been inserted thus —
clarc, s.m. Gaelic spelling of clerh
We hope this will be the means of expelling many Anglicisms from the language, for if anyone is in doubt whether a word is Gaelic or not, he should refer to the Dictionary. If he finds it is not a Gaelic word, he MUST ON NO ACCOUNT USE IT. Such words are only in- serted in the Gaelic -English part as warnings or danger- signals, and they will not be found in the English- Gaelic part. It cannot be impressed too strongly on all who read this, never to introduce a single English word when speaking or writing Gaelic.
We have much pleasure in acknowledging the great
kindness shown and the immense assistance given by our correspondents in all parts of the world, not only by send- ing lists of words not otherwise obtainable, but also by materially increasing the sales and so lightening the bur- den 01 expense that the issue of such a publication lays upon our shoulders. We are especially indebted to
the following gentlemen for the unremitting care with which they have perused each page of the Dictionary during its progress through the press, for it has only been through their labours that the compilation of such a correct vocabu- lary of modern Gaelic has been made possible — William Cameron, Poolewe ; J). Campbell, m.a., ph.d., Grimsay ; Itev. A. Gunn, Durness ; A. Henderson, Kilchoan ; Mai. MacDonaid, 8tornoway ; M. Macfarlane, Elderslie; Dun. Maclsaac, Oban ; J. G. MacKay, London ; M. MacLeod, M.A., Edinburgh ; Rev. J. MacRury, Snizort ; Rev. Charles Robertson, Inverness ; D. Urquhart, m.a., Kyle, Lochalsh ; and H. Whyte, ("Fionn,") Glasgow.
We must not omit our great obligation to the Press both at home and abroad, for the detailed reviews they have given of the parts as they appeared, and for their hearty appreciation of our labours.
It is a cause of regret that type of a larger size could not have been used, but, owing to the inconvenience that would have been caused by increasing the bulk of the book, this was found to be impossible.
The greatest care has been taken to prevent misprints, or omissions, but if readers will kindly notify any they may find, the plates will be corrected in every case be- fore" further copies are printed.
. No attempt has been made to give a so-called phone- tic spelling of each word according to English rules as Mac Alpine does. The Gaelic language being itself practi- cally phonetic on its own lines, by far the simplest way is to learn the correct sounds of the various Gaelic combina- tions from some good text-book, of which there are many, and if possible with the aid of a Gaelic-speaker. The phonetic range oi English is so meagre compared with that of Gaelic, as to make an explanation of the exact
sounds of the latter by means of known combinations of the former almost an impossibility.
This Preface is being issued with Part X, to enable those subscribers who so desire to bind together the parts already published.
%^«><iX^2lCfXD''^Nj
THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF GARLIC.
S we Bee and bear so frequently such foolish
jn remarks as " it does not pay to learn UzielJc," "Gaelic is a hinderance in a commer- cial career," and what is only a little less apa- thetic, " it is a burden which is easily borne," Ac., we hare decided to treat the matter at some length, although some may object that a Dictionary is hardly the place in which to dis- cuss the merits ot a language.
And first, it cannot be too widely known that the speakers of English only, are always baulk- ed by a peculiar di.sability from acquiring for- eign tongues, and that this peculiar disaoility has disastrous results for British commerce. Before Continental rivals appeared to dispute with Britain the right to supply the best mar- kets of the world, very little attention was paid to languages, but to-day the ready ability to acquire any language in a siiort time, gives Continental students such a great advantage, that many British industries can only be ci>n- tiuued at all by employing such Continental rivals as clerks. These foreigners having learnt the trade secrets of the Kuf^lisb, soon after- wards set np a counter trade, and beat the Eng- lish at their own game.
To give our countrymen technical educa- tion and the faculty of easily mastering for- eign tongues is the most urgent and crying need of our day.
There are four main reasons that disaUIt: those who know no language but English in acquiring foreign tongues :—
1. British insularity.
2. Phonetic poverty ot the English language.
3. The prominence given in Britain to the study of dead languages.
4. The Englishman is accustomed to fail with languages, and is proud of bis failure. Otber languages are mere mockery to him. But the mastery of tongues comes as a matter of course to Germans, 8wiss, Russians, &c. Eng. lishmen have not the opportunity to become a bi-lingual people : no but Scotsmen have, for one can obtain constant practice in speaking Gaelic without going outside the country, there being hardly a, villase, even in the Lowlands where at least one Gaelic speaker can not be found.
The only speech that those who are restricted to English ever hear, is one that has a very small phonetic range, besides being distinctly poor in grammatical development. English people pronounce their vowels as if they were diphthongs, and cannot easily see how thepure open vowel .sound diflfers from a diphthong. Tneir language has no inflections, no genders or declension of adjectives, &o. This ling .is-
tic poverty goes far to deprive an Englishman of the capacity to take the very fust step neces- sary in language learning. The tirst stage, the mechanical, begins with a thorough mas- tery of the pronunciation of the language which is being learnt, which, of course, pre-suppo.ses a practical knowledge of phonetics ba.sed on the learner's native language. When the main part of the language to be learnt consists firstly, of sounds never before heard by the learner, and secondly, what is infinitely more subtle and more difficult to grasp, when its system of word- arrangement has never before been dreamt of by the learner, how can such learner ever suc- ceed ? The phonetic range of Gaelic is, if we except Russian, about the richest ot any lan- guage in the world, and includes all the sounds used in the other European tongues. Thu.s,
while one who can only speak English is handi- capped by the difficulty of having to master numbers of new sounds in whatever tongue ho elects to study, the speaker of Gaelic anil Eng- lish is already acquainted with all these sounds.
Our difficulty with languages is more imagin- ary than real. Germans, in their own country, devote years of dogged, persistent labour to the grammatical and oral study of foreign ton- gues, and the methods of instruction in German schools are so superior, that there is an incom- parable difference in the result of study.
The art of learning a living language has been brought to perftclion on the Continent by acquiring the details in the following; order- sounds, speech, language. Speech cannot be articulated until the vocal organs have learned to form its component sounds, language cannot be studied to any practical purpose until a cer- tain degree of familiarity lias been acquired with it as a living tongue. In English schools, the first strange tongue that is introduced to the student is Latin. This, being a dead lan- guage, necessarily reverses the proper order for learning the component parts of a language, and makes the student begin at the end instead of the beginning. In Germany, all boys must first learn French for three years, before they begin Latin, that is, they must acquire the sense of mastery over French as a convers.i- tional language, before they take up the study of a dea<l language by the eyes, with texts, dic- tionaries, &c. It is chiefly this reform that has endowed Germans w iili their linguistic abili- ties.
It is no business of educational authorities to decide whether this or that language shall be studied or not, but it is their duty strictly to prohibit the study of any strange tongue un- der unnatural conditions, as is now the rule. The point to be enforce<l is, thti vital impor- tance of making certain that the first time a
TiU
Stndent attempts to learn any language other tbau bis own, he Hball learn it by the rii;ht melbud. If he have acquired any liuiKuage by the right method, he has not only acquirud that lauguagu, but the faculty of learniug any other lant;ua<;u, and the sense of mastery wiUi which the knowledge of having conquered in- spires him. 'Iho average Kngli.ib-.spealcor is accustomed to fail with languages, for unlike other nations, he has not acquired from infancy the sense of mastery which the successful ac- quirement of a second spoken language gives.
These are some reasons why instruction in the Gaelic lauguat;e must, yes, must be encour- aged in every possible way, especially where still spoken, for to neglect it is to dt-prive the children of a priceless heritage for whicti they pay nothing, (and very little is obtainable free now-a-days.) Consider a moment,— did the or- dinary Gaelic-and-Knglish speaking child ever have any trouble or expense in attaining these two languages V Of course not. Well then, he got his ailvantage free, and that this is an overwhelming advantage may be proved thus : Take little t«u-year-old bi-liugual Donald Mac- Donald from the Uaeldom, and little ten-year- old Jamie 8teeuson, auni-liugual from the Uall- tachd. Which of them will learn French in no time, and wbicb of them will never do anything but boggle at French ?
The ettect of the study of Gaelic upon the gen- eral intelligence of school children is very mark- ed, and a well-known inspector of schools, who has examined bi-lingual children for thirty years, declares that Gaelic-speaking children are much more intelligent and brighter, and possess a better knowledge of ibinglisU than the uni-Iingual Lowland child.
The late Dowager Lady Mackenzie, who bad charge of tbeGairloch estate from 1843 to 1663, started some tun schools there during that pe- iod, and it was the rule in all those schools tliat |io child was to learn any Unglisb till be or she
could read the Gaelic Bible fluently. Men and women brought up under that system M'cre na- urally far superior in intelligence and every other good quality to those crammed by ino<lern Kducaiional Act regulations. The ettect of their liaving leurnt bouh languages iutelliifeutly and thoroughly is noticeable even in their des- cendants, tor it would not be easy to tiud a more correct speaker ot Gaelic and English than a person brought up in Gairloch.
'ihe de.spotic way in wbicli clnldren who could only speak Gaelic have been cruiiinied with a ma.ss of Knglisu by nou Gaelic-ape^iking teucliers, to be forgotten as soon as luey left .school, and their minds so starved initead of nourisued, is simply astounding. Iheuiaune* in which persons in authority in the vaiioua districts have done their utmost to po>.sun the minds of the people against the valuo of their native language and bring it into contempt with them, is what one woulu expeci in liuksia in- stead of Scotland, or in a record of the darkest ignorance of the Middle ages. It ba^, of course, been done to serve their own enu.t, by making it unnecessary for them to learn the language, which they could not dispense with in a Gaelio- speaking place, so long as it held the tlrst place in the esteem of the natives. The ab>uidity of the teachings of such people has now been fully exposeil, and no Gael w ho has reaihed yeai's of di^cretion would look with anything but cuu- tempt and ridicule an anyone who would pre- sume to underrate the Gaelic language.
Any adult who has a tlesire to learn foreign tongues will hnd it immensely to his advantage to learn Gaelic in the lirst place. He can do this coll(K|uially without any difTiculty in most parts of Britain, and very lew aio so siluatcd as not to be able to mett with a Gaelic-speaker at least two or three times a week.
rrixe Gaelic TdSLia^gixsLge,
PRONUNCIATION.
WfWHE Gaelic Alphabet contains eighteen i^ÌÈ^letters— a, b, c, d, e, f , g, h, i, I, m, u, o, p, r, s, i, n.
The vowels are divided into broad and small. The broad are a, o, and u ; the small e, and i.
The Consonant* are classed as— dentals d, t, 8 ; labials b, f , m, p ; Unguals 1, n, r ; palatals c,|.
H is the mark of aspiration and is never found alone in a word, but always after the letters b, c, d,f, g, m, p, s, t.
There are two accents — the grave and acute. Either oi these placed over a vowel indicates that it is long, and that it has a specific sound according to which is used. The accents also serve to distinguish between words that are the same in spelling but different in meaning.
In almost all polysyllables, excepting some words compounded with a preposition, the ac- cent falls on the first syllable. The others are .shorl and unaccented, and the vowels in that situation have in general short obscure sounds. Hence it happens that the Towel."* in these syllables are so often used indiscriminately.
There are no quiescent final vowels.
There are some sounds in Gaelic to which there are none perfectly similar i' Knglish, and the same combinatiou does not invariably re- present the same sound in different parts of the Highlands. Thepowers of the different letters may be explained with a certain degree of ac- curacy, yet much will still remain to be learned by the ear alone. As this subject is fully dis- cussed and explained in "Gaelic as a Specific Subject" we must refer the reader to that work sot fuller information on account of our limited sp?.oe here. The following remarks are. how- orer. reproduced, chiefly from "Còmhraidhean an Gàidhlig is am Beurla," by Rev. D.MacInnes, asgiTinga good general Idea of Gaelic pronun- ciation k> those quite unacquainted with the language.
Further remarks on pronunciation will be founu in the bcJy of this work under the respec- tive letters.
Sounds er thk Vowbls. à loHglike a in/or, as din, a poem ;b«H, white i short like o in that, as pronounced by a Low- lauder.not asbyan KBgIishman,asfad, Unath-
gad, teithe. ^ '
I long before (ih like u drawled in burn, as
ladhran, hoofs. & short Kound of foregoing, as lagh, law. a before an and 11, like à above and u in fullv
_ as clann, children ; cAll, lots. s Jn unaccented sylUbles has ihe obscure bread
sound mentioned above. è long like e in there, a* gnè, kind. i long like a in/ame, as aè, yesterday; ci, earth I snort like e in jet, as dheth, o/ him or it. * short like a in rate, as teth. hot; leth half. e in unaccented syllables, has generally the
short obscure sound, as collie, a teood I long like e in m«, as sid, weather; dith want 1 short like » in king as fir, men ; vain, meal I short hke » in tigU, as tigh, Acute ; a stigh
ail ai 2 ai 3 ai4 ai 5
ao 1
ea 1 ea 2 lèaS ! ea i
i<^i 1
|ei 2 lei 3 i ei 4 ledl j eo 2
ieu 1
'ia 1
leithin-, used oaly in these two words. Ò long like aw in fataii as còrr hernn\ òl drinX: Ò2 long like o in bold, as Ion. meiidow: bo, coU>. b short like o in modest, as cor, condition ; orra^
on them. 5 short like o in bowl, as dol, going; crodh.co'fte. o8 long like ow in down, a.s fonn, land; toil, hole-. , VI long like oo in poor, as ùr, new; ii\>rAìt,tm.4ie. 4 short like « in fully, as cur, sending ; guth,
voice.
Sounds of the Diphthongs. like à & i, as daiinh, kinfhip. ,, & & 1, as daimh, o/an ox. „ a, the t being silent, as fàilte, welcome. „ a, the » bein^ silent, as tais, so/t. ,, I, short, the » being silent, as tairbhe; profit ; airm, arms.
i, the o being silent, as aog, death ; caol, slender.
è short, à à, as geall. wagtr.
i, short, & a, as geal, white.
è, a being silent, as dean, do.
i, a being silent, as lean. foVow.
è, i being silent & dh sounded, as tièidhi wish.
è, i is silent & cA sounded, as deich, ten.
6, the » being silent, asc^ile, apoufe.
I, the » being silent, as ceist, qtiesdon.
è slightly sounded A h, as ceòl, music.
è slightly sounded and 4, as beothail, lively.
è, the u being silent, as ceum, a step.
J A a obscure, as ciall, sense ; lar; west.
Ì the o being silent, as lion,^W.
i obscure & o silent, asciont, guiU.
i, the o being silent, as iomlan, oomf- plete.
u i*up, as ciod? whatf
1 & Ù, as fiù, worthy.
i dt A, as iubhar, a yew-tree.
Ù, the i being nilent, as diùlt, refuse.
A, the i being silent, as diugh, to-day.
Ò & i, as clòimh, wool.
è 4 i, as cloimh, mange.
è, the t being silent, as toiaeach, begin- ning.
À & a obscure, as cinas, ear.
ix & i silent, as dùil, ho^e.
A &. i silent as sluig, sttallow ; diiinci man.
Sounds op thi Thiphthonos. The Triphthongs are aoi, eai, eoi. iai, ini, naL As the sounds of the diphthongs depend on those of the dual vowels, so the sounds of the triphthongs depend on those of the diphthongs. The rule that the vowel immediately before or immediately after a plain palatal or lingual often loses its sound holds good in regard to the triphthongs. The vowel in the triphthoag that loses its sound is the last i.
Sounds of thi Consonants.
b, like 6 in boat, as bard, o poet.
bh, at the beginning and end of a word is like y, as bha, was. In the middle of a word it is sometimes like v, and sometimes like t», as leabhar, htok ; bat often silent, aa dabM^
Ì0 1 io 2 io 3
io 4 iù 1 iu 2 iù 3 iu 4 oi 1 oi 2 oi 3
na 1 ùi 1 ai 2
ar, sheidt.
B
0, befor« a broad rowel, like c in can, as cirn,
a heap (jf stones. before a small vowel, like k in keen, as cinn,
heads. •h, before or after a broad Towel, Is like ch
in loch, as ohair, put; daocb, a drink, eh, before or after a small rowel is like the
Oreek chi as pronounced in Scotland, as
chi, shall tee; aeich, ten. C, at the oud of a syllable is like chk, asirtac,
«on.— Uxcoptions, cbunnaic, iouraic, òir-
dheiro, èiric. chd, is like ch in loch with k added. d, before a broad rowel is like d in door, as
doras, door. d, before a small rowel is like 4 in deu, as
dian, do. dh, before or after a broad vowel has no sound
in English exactly like it. dh, before or after a small rowel is like y in
ifield, as dhibh, Q^you;fèidh, ifeer (pi.)
1, is like/ in KnuUsh.
ft, at the beginuing of a word is silent, except
in the words Jhuair, /hathatt, when it is
Uke h in hat. K, before a broad vowel is like g in go, as gabh,
take. g, before a small rowel is like g in give, as
aim, yield. gh, before or after a small vowel is like y In
yield, as gbèill, yielded; faigh, get. gh, before or after a broad rowel, has no sonnd
in English exactly like It. 1, bsfore a broad vowel has no sound in English
exactly like it.
I, before a small vowel is like I in lure, as liadh,
a ladle, or blotfe o/ an oar.
II, at the end of a syllable or word preceded by
i, is like II in million, ,i s pill, return ; pill- tinn,retuming; when precoded by a broad vowel it has no sound like it in Engiisb.
tn, is like m iu English.
mh, at the beginuing and end of a word or flanked bv vowels, is like v, as mharbh (pro. varr) killed ; nàmh, an eiiemy.
mh, after a rowel and followed by a consonant. is generally Hilent, but it imparts a nasal sound to the rowel preceding it, as comh- radh, dialogue ; and in sometimes sounded u or «7, ail in sambradh, summer.
B, before a broad rowel has no sousd in Eng- lish exactly like it.
n, before; a small rowel is like n in new, as neach, a person.
nn, after a broad rowel has no sound exactly like it in English.
nn, after « is like n in pinion.
n, after c, g, m, t, is usually like r, ascnàrah, decay, digest; gnlomh, deed, action; mnath- an, women; tnù, envy; but correct speakers
S renounce it n. ep iu Engiisb. ph, at the beginuing of a word is like f as pbill,
returned. a, before or after a broad vowel is like s in Eng- lish. B, before or after a small rowel is like th, as sin,
stretch ; tais, soft. ah, at bbe beginuing of a word is like h, as shin
(pro. been, ) stretched. ti before or afUtr a broad vowel i^ like t in tone,
as tog, raise ; lot, a wimnd. t, before or after a small vowel is like the
first element of ch in chin, as teine, /ire. th, at the beginning of a word is like h, as tlUg,
come. tb, in th« middle and end of a word is silent, as
batbar, (pro. bn-ta.) goods ; bath (pro. be)
drown. 1. n, r, are the only letters that are doabled in the middle 6f a word. No leMer is donblad n* the beginning of a word.
ORTHOGRAPHY.
The chief exceptions to the above mlee fre- quently met with in writing are :— is, is ; so, this ; sad, yonder ; ged, although ; and tigh, a house.
We have continued the nsnal way of spelling is and ged throughout this work, but toere is an increasing tendency to xpell "so" s«o, "sud'' siod, and "tigh" iaign, so we bare adopted these forms as being more in uni- formity with the spelling of tne rost of the langnage. Seo and siod are also the more cor- rect as representing the Old Oaelie forms seo and sittt.
The Orthography generally adopted in this Dic- tionary IS tnat used by the best scholars of the present day.
INFLECTIONS.
OF THE ARTICLE. The following statement from Dr. Oillies' Gaelic Grammar, shows the Article in position before Nouns of both genders beginning with every letter of the Alphabet, and m such reUi- tiou with i^epositious as to bring oat all the possible forms.
Masculiitx Nouns.
a a a a a a a a a a P a a e a e a
£■2
.s o
0BaaoEaga3 *tiA** *****
sissssi
« a I
'x\
Fkminini Nouns,
a -o o.^ S-^ *» 3
u ,
■3
mmu
:*8
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OF VERBS. In this Dictionary the root of the verb is always given first, immediately followed by the Pres. Part. Irregular inflections of all Verbs are also given.
The 2nd. Pers. angnlar Imperative" Mood is the ROOT or THEMB of erery Gaelic Verb. Indicative. Mood, Active Voice—
The Past Taoae of a Verb i« formed by as- pirating the initial consonant of ifci root, as— Fai«K, fold thou ; phai^g e, hefoldt^. Verb^ beginning with I, n, r, »c, sg, sin, sp, it, do not take the aspirated form, and -when a Verb commences with a Towel the past teniw is formed by prefixing dh' to the root, as — òl, drink thou; db'ol e, he drank.
Hie Future Tense is formed by adding idh to the root of aU Verbs, as— Bnsil, strike thou ; buailidh mi, / shall strike. When the last vo- wel of the root is broad aidh is added instead of idh.
The I^/iniUve Mood and Pre*. Pnrt. are gener- ally formed by adding adh to the root, as — Baail, itrike, a bkualadb to strike; a' boal- adh, striking.
OF SUBSTANTIVES. In this Dictionary the n<jun is given in the Nom. Sing., immediately followed by the terminations of the Gen. Sing, and Nom. Plur. All irregular inflections of other cases are also given. When only one termination, a or an, is given, it is that of the Nom. Plur., and the Gen. Sing. - is in
snch cases the same as the Nom. Sing. When the only termination given is not a or an, it is that of the Gen. Sing, and Nom. Plur., which in such cases are alike.
General Rules.— The Nom. and Dat. Sing, of M&8C. Nonns are alike.
The Qen. and Dat. Sing, of Fern. Nonns are alike.
The Qen. and Voo. Sing, of Masc. Nouns are alike.
Tne Nom. and Voc. Sing, of Fern. Nouns are alike.
PLCRiL.— The Nom. Plur. i-s often like the Gon. Slug., or it ia formed by adding a, an, or ean to the Nom. Sing.
Thw Gen. Pi. ii either like the Nom. Sing, or Nom. Plur.
The Dat. PI. is like the Nom. PI., the oldeP form in 16^ or aibh being practically obsolete.
Tne Voc. PI. is the same as the Nom., aspira- ted and ending in a or an.
A nonn with the article before it is' definite, and without the article, indejiniie.
A definite masc. nonn aspirates the Gen. and Dat. Sing; but a definite fam. noun aspirates the Nora, and Dat. Sing.
Adetiuite noun beginning with d, 1, n, r, s, oif t, does not aspirate any case.
Nouns beginning loith a consonant, and whose last vowel is broad. The Gen. Sing, is usually formed by inserting i after the last rowel of the Nom. Sing.
Nouns beginning ivith a consonant, and whose last vowel is small. The Gen. Sing. masc. and fem. is generally formed by adding e to the Nom.; but Nouns of mor<i than one syllable generally lerminatd i alike in all oases in the Singular.
NouAS commencing with a vowel. I A deflui'ue masc. Noun requires t- licfore it in I the Nom. Sing., and h- in the Nom. and Dat.Pl. I A definite fem. Noun requires A- before it in I the Gen. Sing., and in the Nom. and Dat. Plur^
A definite ma-W. Noun beeinnin^ with » f ol» lowed by a vowel, or a liquid requires t- before it in the Gen. and Dat. Sing., and a definite fem. Noun in the Nom. and Dat. Sing.
OF ADJECTIVES. In this Dictionary Adjectives are given in the Positive form, followed by the ter- mination of the first Comparative.
Adjectives are declined by number, gender, case, and form, and choir oblique cases are form- ed from the Nom., according to the rules already given for the formation of th* eases of nouns.
The Nom. Sing. Masc. and Fem. end aUke, hnt the feminine is aspirated.
The Gen. Sing. Fem. is formed from the Gon. Sing. Masc, by dropping the aspirated form, ani t , if a monosyllable, it generally ends in e or a.
The Plural oif all adjectives of one syllable ends in a ( e if the preceding vowel is small) and of thoee of more than one syllable, like the Nom. Sing.
The Nom. Dat. and Voo. Fem., and the Gen. and Voc. Maac. are aspirated in the Sisg. either with or without the article.
The Dat. of aa adjective combined with a definite noun ia aspirated lu both genders.
▲dJ*ctÌTe« af Ivro or moru nylliibles seldom a,dd « ko the Oen. Sing.
Ànadjtctire beginning with a rowel adniitii of MO initial (!bani;t', hdÌI one ending in a Towel adviks of no final change. OoMPiRisoN.— Thpra are only two deftrees of oovpariiion in G&i-li'", the I'otUive, and Con^ jMrative, and a Saperlatire of extent.
The Comparatire lias three forms of Compari- 8on, the^»<, second, and third.
The Brit form is like the Gen. Sing, Fem., the neeond i» formed from the first by changing « in- to id, and the third from the seeond by cnaug- ing id into ead; a.s Ban, fair, l»tC.li«itie, 2Bd0.bainld, 8rdC. and
Atist. Noun, bàiieatl, lohileitetl Crion, little, IstC.crine, 2ndC.criui<l, SrdC.crin- sad, littlene.<».
The thrte forms oi' comparison take the aspi- rat«d form, bnt no final coaiige whatever.
EXAMPLES.
N0UN8 WITH AND WITHOT'T ARTIOLB. A Rkoular Broad Vowel Noon. Bard, maac. a poet.
Sing. rinr.
Nom. bard, a poet. biird. poets. Oen. hkini, qf a poet, bhàrd, Q/"po«;a. X>at. air bard, on a poet, airbàird, (bàrdaibta)
on j><>ets Toe. a bhàìrd 1 Opoet I a bhàrda ! O poets I
(^ The Dative case of an indefinite Nonn is plain, unless preceded b^ a preposition which aipiratM the nonn following, as— <ie, do,fo, &,c.
Am Bird, the poet. Kom. am bard, thejioet. nabàird, the poets. Oen. a' bhàird, q/" the «o«<.nam bard, qf the poets 2) r air a' bhsrd, on the poet, do na biird (bird-
' (.do'n bhird, to the poet, [aibb] to the poets.
Sit^. Plur. Sing. Plur.
Br6g,/«m. a shoe. A' bhròg , the shoe.
Xo>n.t>TÒg, brogan. a' bhrbg, na bro^an.
0«n. bròige, bbròg. nabròige, nam brdg.
Dot. bròig, brògan. )u.[ bhròig na brògan.
Voc. a bbròg ! a bhrògan !
A Beqclar Small Vowel Noun. Mir, tnasc, a piece Am mlr, the piece.
Ifom. mir, miroan. am mir na mirean. Gen. mire, mhirean. a' mhire, nam mirean. Dot. mlr, mirean, -ibh.do'nmhir, do na mir- Toe. a mhlr I a mhirean t [ean, or miribh.
Polt,/«m., a pot. A' phoit, the pot.
Nom. poit, poitean. a' phoit, na )>oitean (f«n. poite, phoit. na poite, nam poit.
JMU. poit, poitean, -ibh. do'n phoit, do na Voc. a phoit ! a phoit«an I (.poitean, -ibh.
A FiHiifiNK Noun Declined with an Adj.
Claaa mhòr, a large ear.
Sing. Plur.
A'om.clnas mhòr, cluasan mora.
Oen. claaise .moire, ehlaasan mora.
Dot. cluaia mhòir, claanan [or-aibh] mora. Koo. achluas mhiSr I a chlnasa m6ra !
A' chinas mhòr, the large *«r. Kotn. a' chinas nihòr na clnaaan m^ra. Oen. na claaise uiòire, naa clnasan m^ra. Dat. do'n cblaals mbòir.do n» clnasan [-aibb]
Xm^ra.
A MASCtrLTHK Noun Declined with ah An.
Uan beag, a little lamb. Nom. nan baa^ , naia bbeaga.
(len. uaiii bhig, nan beaga.
Out. uan boag, «ain bheaira or naa-
[aibb beaga. Voc. nain bhig ! nana beaga I
An k-nan beag. the littU lamb. Kom. an t-nan beag, na b-aain hheagik Oen. an uain bhig, nan uan beatra.
Dat. do'n uan bbeag, na h'uain hheaca, or [uanaibh beaga. COMPOUND NOUN.S. When two Nouns combine to form a compound Nonn the first is declined regularly. Tha second has the Genitive form always and in all the canes. It mav be Singnlar or PlnraL If ik is Singular, it takes the Aspiration of an Adjeo- tÌTc in agreement with the first Noun, if Plural it takes the Aspirate tbroughonk. Singular. a full tide a hen-house a nut-toood Nom. lin-mara taixb-cbearo coille-chad Gen. liin-mhara tai^h-rhearc ooille-ohnò Dat. lin-mara taigh-chearo coille-chnd Voc. a làìn-mhara,a tbaigb-cbeare,a cboille-chnd
When a Nonn and Adjective combine to form a Compound Noun both parts are regularly d»< clinedasif they stood apart.
Coileach-dubh, a black-ctck. SinguÌMr. Plural.
Nom. eoileacb-dubh coilich-diiubha Gen. coilich-dhuibh coiiuach-dubha Dat. coilea''h dubh cotlicn <lhubha Voc. achoilich-diialbh a choileacha-ilnhha
Final n and I of tlie first element prevent* a.spiration of initial d>>ntal of the second— aig .sgoil-ilanrnaidb, at u dancing-school.
When an Adjective and Noun combine, the Adjective retains the Nominative form through- out, and the Noun is regularly declined and haa the aspiration throughout.
Dubh-fbacal, a dark saying
Sinjular. Plural.
Nom. dubh-fhacal dubh-fhacail
Gen. dubh-fhacail dubh-fhacal
Dat. dubh-fhacal dubh-fhacaU
Voc. a dhubh-fhacail a dhubb-fbada
VERBS. There are two Conjugations In Gaelic,— the First and the Second. Verbs beginning wikb a consonant, except/ pure, are of the First oon- jnjjation, and those baginning with a rowel ory pure are of the Secrmd,
A Rkoular Verb OF the First Conjdoation Paisg, Fold or wrap.
— Actxve Voice— Simple Tenses. Indicative or Affirmative Mood Past Tense, Sing. 1. Phaisg mi, or do phaisg mi, I folded t. Phaisg thn, thou foldedst 8. Phaist{ e, he folded Plnr.l. Phaisij sinn, we folded 2. PhaisR sibh, ye folded S. Phai.»K lad, tney folded Future Tense. Sing. 1. Psisgidh mi. I shall or will fold
2. Paisgidh tn, thou sbalt or wilt (old 8. Pai.ogidh e, he shall or will fold Plur. 1. l'aÌHgidh .sinn, we shall fold
2. Paisgidh sibh. ye shall fold
3. Paisgidh iad, they shall fold
iiìi
NegatÌTe or InterrogabÌTe Mood P<^t Tense.
(an.., cha.., nach. ., mur.., &c.) Sìng. 1. An do phaisg mi ? did I fold ? Sing. 1. Cna do phai.^ mi, I did not fold Sing. 1. Nach do phaisg mi ? did I not fold ? Sing. 1. Mur do phaisg mi, if I did not fold Future Tense.
(am . . , cha ph— , nach . . , mur . . ) Sing. 1. paisg mi, (shall ìk. ) I fold
SubjuuctÌTe Mood. Past Tense. Sing. 1. Phaisginii, I would fold
2. Phaisgeadh ta, thou wouldst fold 8. Phaisgeadh e, he would fold Plar. 1. Phaisgeani lid, we would fold 2. Phai.igeadh sibh, ye would fold 8. Phaisgeadh iad, they would fold Future Tense Sing. 1. (Ma) phai!<«;eas mi, (if) I shall fold
2. ,, phai<ii;<ias tu, (if) thou shalt fold
3. „ p'laisgeas e, (if) he shall fold Plor.l. „ pbaisgeas sinn, ^if) we shall fold
2. „ pLaisfieas sibh, (if) ye shall fold S. „ pLaisgea.i iad, (it) they shall <