MacBain, An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language
Content from ceantar.org | This searchable version by Pádraic Moran for personal use only.Notes
Published by Garim Publications, 29 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 6BZ
Tel. 041-221 1971
Printed by Clark Constable (1982) Let, Edinburgh
ISBN 0 901771 68 6
1st edition - 1896
2nd edition (revised) - 1911
Photolitho Reprint of 1911 edition - 1982
Suggestions for future modernisations:
- Change "aspirate" to "lenite"
- Change "small" to "slender"
- Change the likes of "see next word" to an explicit cross-reference.
This is needed if the dictionary is going to be updated, or
supplementary words merged, or the dictionary stored in a database.
(Such instances have been marked with ">>" to facilitate future
editing.)
- Standardise references, which usually contain a volume number in
superscript (@+).
- Standardise the following abbreviations:
"Cor.", "Corn." for Cornish
"Sl.", "Slav." for Slavonic
"D.of L.", "D.of Lis." for Dean of Lismore
Air a chur air a' choimpiutair le Caoimhín Pádraig Ó Donnaíle Earraid House, Biggar Road, Dùn Éideann, EH10 7DX, Alba A' tòiseachadh 1990-03-14; deiseil 1990-10-10 140 uairean a thìde de dh'obair.
This dictionary has only been keyed in once. Before any serious work is done with it, it needs to be keyed in again to verify it and correct typing mistakes.
2000-04-08 Air a thiondadh bho ASCII gu Latin-1, cho fad 's a b'urrainn 2000-04-11 Na ceann-fhaclan air an dearbhadh. Mearachdan an-siud 's an-seo air an ceartachadh.
Abbreviations, etc.
1. Languages
| Ag.S. | Anglo Saxon |
|---|---|
| Arm. | Armenian |
| Br. | Breton |
| Bulg. | Bulgarian |
| Ch.Sl. | Church Slavonic |
| Cor. | Cornish |
| Corn. | Cornish |
| Dan. | Danish |
| Dial. | Dialectic, belonging to a dialect |
| Du. | Dutch |
| E. | Early, as E.Eng.= Early English |
| Eng. | English |
| Fr. | French |
| G. | Gaelic |
| Gaul. | Gaulish |
| Ger. | German |
| Got. | Gothic |
| H. | High, as H.G.= High German |
| Heb. | Dialects of the Hebridees |
| Hes. | Hesychius |
| I.E. | Indo-European |
| Ir. | Irish |
| Ital. | Italian |
| L. | Late, as L.Lat.= Late Latin |
| Lat. | Latin |
| Lett. | Lettic |
| Lit. | Lithuanian |
| M. | Middle, as M.Ir.= Middle Irish |
| Mod. | Modern |
| N. | Norse |
| N. | New, as N.Slav.= New Slavonic |
| N.H. | Dialects of the Northern Highlands |
| O. | Old, as O.Ir.= Old Irish |
| O.H.G. | Old High German |
| Per. | Persian |
| Pruss. | Prussian |
| Sc. | Scottish |
| Sl. | Slavonic |
| Slav. | Slavonic |
| Slov. | Slovenic |
| Span. | Spanish |
| Sw. | Swedish |
| W. | Welsh |
| Zd. | Zend or Old Bactrian |
2. Books and Authorities
| A.M'D | Alexander Macdonald's [Gaelic Songs], with vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Atk. | Atkinson's Dictionary to the [Passions and Homilies from the Leabhar Breac], 1887 |
| Arm.,Arms. | Armstrong's [Gaelic Dictionary], 1825 |
| B.of Deer | Book of Deer, edited by Stokes in [Goidelica], 1872 |
| Bez.Beit. | Bezzenberger's [Beiträge zur Kunde der Idg. Sprachen], a German periodical still proceeding |
| C.S. | Common Speech, not yet recorded in literature |
| Celt.Mag | The [Celtic Magazine], 13 vols., stopped in 1888 |
| Con. | Coneys' [Irish-English Dictionary], 1849 |
| Corm. | Cormac's Glossary, published in 1862 and 1868, edited by Dr Whitely Stokes |
| D.of L. | [The Dean of Lismore's Book], edited in 1862, 1892 |
| Four Mast. | Annals of the Four Masters, published in 1848, 1851 |
| Fol. | Foley's [English-Irish Dictionary], 1855 |
| Hend. | Dr George Henderson, Lecturer in Celtic Languages and Literature in the University of Glasgow |
| H.S.D. | The Highland Society's [Dictionary of the Gaelic Language], 1828 |
| Inv.Gael.Soc.Tr | Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, still proceeding |
| L.na H. | [Lebor na h-uidre], or the Book of the Dun Cow, an Irish MS of 1100 |
| Lh. | Lhuyd's [Archaeologia Brittanica], 1707 |
| Lib.Leinster | Book of Leinster, an Irish MS of 1150 |
| M'A. | Macalpine's [Gaelic Dictionary], 1832 |
| M'D. | Alexander Macdonald's [Gaelick and English Vocabulary], 1741 |
| M'E. | M'Eachan's [Faclair], 1862 |
| M'F. | M'Farlane's [Focalair] or Gaelic Vocabulary, 1815 |
| M'L. | M'Leod and Dewar's [Dictionary of the Gaelic Language], 1831 |
| Nich. | Sheriff Nicholson's Gaelic Proverbs |
| O'Br. | O'Brien's [Irish-English Dictionary], 1768 and 1832 |
| O'Cl. | O'Clery's Glossary, republished in [Revue Celtique], Vols. IV, V, date 1643 |
| O'R. | O'Reilly's [Irish English Dictionary], 1823 |
| Rev.Celt. | [Revue Celtique], a periodical published at Paris, now in its 17th vol. |
| R.D. | Rob Donn, the Reay Bard; sometimes given as (Suth.) |
| Rob. | Rev. Chas M. Robertson, author of pamphlets on certain dialects of the Scottish Highlands |
| S.C.R. | The [Scottish Celtic Review], 1 vol., edited by Dr Cameron, 1885 |
| S.D. | [Sean Dana], Ossianic Poems by the Rev Donald Smith |
| Sh. | Shaw's [Gaelic and English Dictionary], 1780 |
| St. | Dr Whitley Stokes; see "Authors quoted" |
Transliteration
@G[...] Greek (always italics)@+[...] superscript (Seems to be used only for volume nos in journal refs)
/ acute on preceding letter
\ grave on preceding letter
@. dot below preceding letter
@- macron(?) (horizontal line) above preceding letter
@* ring above preceding letter (always 'u')
@u breve(?) (tiny 'u'-like mark) above preceding letter
@n semi-circle like inverted breve above preceding letter (Greek)
@' comma above preceding letter (Greek)
@' backward comma above prededing letter (Greek)
@g a curly lower case 'g', distinct from an ordinary 'g'
@? other accent (to be inserted later) on preceding letter
@oe "diphthong" 'oe' character
?? a character which cannot be identified, or appears wrong,
or something needing sorted out later
++ dagger mark (indicates obsolete word)
--
Greek alphabet transliteration
alpha a nu n
beta b xi x
gamma g omicron o
delta d pi p
epsilon e rho r
zeta z sigma s
eta c tau t
theta q upsilon u
iota i phi f
kappa k chi h
lambda l psi y
mu m omega w
The letter j also occurs in Greek words quoted in the Dictionary.