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)