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Ainmean-àiteachan

Place names

The Gaelic landscape has been celebrated in poetry, prose and song. Place names can often give us a sense of history and also of geography. Geographical features are described in great detail through colour, flora, fauna and human features. Throughout Scotland, not just in the Highlands and islands, we can see evidence of this, in road signs and on maps.

Once you’ve learned a few phrases, you can try to work out the original meaning of place names. But remember that these names can become corrupted over time for a number of reasons, and so what may appear obvious at first glance can turn out to have an entirely different meaning.

Why don’t we start with some simple examples?

baile

town/township/village/farm

cill

church/churchyard/cell

achadh

field

Baile a’ Chaolais

Ballachulish (the village at the narrows/channel)

Cille Mhàrtainn

Kilmartin (church of Màrtainn)

Achadh na Croise

Achnacroish (field of the cross)

Place names describe trees in the landscape, such as

calltainn

hazel

darach

oak

conasg

whin/gorse

which can be seen in

Am Barra Calltainn

Barcaldine | hazel summit

An Camus Darach

Camusdarach | (the) oak bay

Cnoc a’ Chonaisg

Cnoc a’ Chonaisg | Whin hill

Features in the landscape which resemble the parts of the body (not all literal), such as

ceann

head

sròn

nose

beul

mouth

aghaidh

face

which in turn can be seen in

Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain

Campbeltown (the head of the loch at Ciaran’s church)

Sròn an t-Sìthein

Strontian (The point at the fairy hill)

Beul na h-Uamha

Belnahua (The mouth of the cave)

Aghaidh an Lochain

Avielochan (The hill face by the small loch)

You’ll remember in A1 Cuspair 5 we looked at colours in Gaelic. Gaelic’s colour spectrum is unique and reflects colours according to nature.

dubh

black/dark

ruadh

reddish brown/russet

liath

grey/blue-grey/blue

gorm

blue, green (of grass)

donn

brown

dearg

red

These colours can be seen in these place names

An t-Eilean Dubh

The Black Isle (the dark/black island)

Am Monadh Ruadh

The Cairngorms (the red-brown mountain range)

Am Monadh Liath

Monadhliath Mountains (grey-blue mountain range)

An Càrn Gorm

Cairn Gorm (the peak) (the blue hill (cairn))

An Tom Donn

Tomdoun (the brown hillock)

We saw some descriptive names and place names in the conversation.

Rathad nan Eilean

the Road to (‘of’) the Isles

Port Rìgh

Portree

Port na h-Abhainne

Portnahaven

Glaschu

Glasgow

Caol Acain

Kyleakin

Lochan na h-Achlaise

Lochan na h-Achlaise

Tha sinn a’ gabhail Rathad nan Eilean

We are taking the Road to the Isles

… bidh sinn a’ gabhail sgrìob a Phort Rìgh

… we’ll be taking a trip to Portree.

Na dathan: dubh, gorm, ruadh, glas – Glaschu.

The colours: black, blue, russet, grey-green – Glasgow.

… faclan mar phort – Port Rìgh, abhainn – Port na h-Aibhne, caol – Caol Acain,

… words like port – Portree, river – Portnahaven, kyle – Kyleakin

An cuala tu an t-ainm Lochan na h-Achlaise riamh?

Did you ever hear the name the Lochan of the Oxter?

Here are just some of common words you will come across when looking at maps of the Highlands and islands.

abhainn (f)

river

allt (m)

stream/burn

beinn (f)

ben/mountaincairn/hill/heap of stones

càrn (m)

cairn/hill/heap of stones

creag (f)

rock/crag/cliff

inbhir (m)

confluence

loch (m)

loch/lake

port (m)

port

rubha (m)

point/headland/promontory

sgeir (f)

skerry/reef

srath (m)

wide valley

tobar (f)

well

caol/caolas (m)

channel/narrows/kyle/strait

leathann (adj)

broad/wide

àird (f)

point/headline/high place

camas

channel, (wide) bay, harbour

coire (m)

corrie/hollow on side of hill (lit. kettle ‘cauldron’)

uachdar

upper part/top/summit

ìochdar

lower part/bottom

And each one of these gives us a place name.

Bun na h-Abhainne

Bunnabhain (the mouth of the river)

Taigh an Uillt

Taynuilt (the house by the stream)

Beinn Bhuidhe

Benbuie (yellow mountain)

An Càrn Dubh

Cairndow (the black cairn/hill)

Creag an Iubhair

Craignure (the rock of the yew)

Inbhir Nis

Inverness (the mouth/confluence of the (river) Ness)

Loch nam Madadh

Lochmaddy (the loch of the wolves)

Port Sgioba

Port Charlotte (harbour at the ship river)

An Rubha

Rhu (the headland)

Port Sgeire

Portskerra (the harbour at the skerry)

An Srath Mòr

Strathmore (the big strath)

Tobar Dhonnchaidh

Toberonochy (Duncan’s well)

Caol Acain

Kyleakin (Haakon’s strait)

An t-Àth Leathann

Broadford the broad ford)

Àrd Ruighe

Airdrie (the high slope)

An Camas Darach

Camusdarach ((the) oak bay)

An Coire Dearg

Coire Dearg (the red corrie)

Bealach Uachdarach

Bealach Uachdarach (upper pass)

Bealach Ìochdarach

Bealach Ìochdarach (lower pass)