The Companion to the Fiery Cross, a Breath of Snow and Ashes, an Echo in the Bone, and Written in My Own Heart's Blood
Page 77
hc: 251
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: An altercation where a number of people talk at once. A “to-do.”
Phrase (as printed): ked
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 246
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: A sheep louse.
Phrase (as printed): kine
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 245
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Cattle.
Phrase (as printed): kirk
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: FC
pb: 79
hc: 54
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Church. This word can be found in a similar form in several other Germanic languages: Icelandic, kirkja; Swedish, kyrka; Dutch, kerk; German, kirche.
Phrase (as printed): kittle-hoosie
Phrase (if revised): kittle-housie
Phonetic transcription: /kittle-hoossi/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 246
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Whorehouse, brothel. A double o is in fact not correct Scots spelling. It is in actuality the ou which makes the /oo/ sound in Scots, meaning that words like “house” and “mouse” are correctly spelled just as they are in English.
Phrase (as printed): kittock! mislearnit pilsh!
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: FC
pb: 330
hc: 222
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Trollop! Uneducated, low-born!”: normally pilshoch.
Phrase (as printed): kivvers
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 246
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Covers, bedding.
Phrase (as printed): knivvle
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 246
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: To beat or thrash.
Phrase (as printed): lang-nebbit
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 252
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Long-nosed. An interfering, nosy person would be referred to as being lang-nebbit.
Phrase (as printed): lassie
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: EITB
pb: 221
hc: 157
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: A young girl. This is a classic Scots word but also features strongly in northern English dialects. You can still hear it in everyday speech in Northumberland, Cumbria, Yorkshire, and Lancashire, to name but some, albeit mostly in its non-diminutive form, “lass.” It appears to come originally from Old Norse, although the etymology is somewhat shrouded by time. The term “lassie” can be applied very earnestly here in Glasgow in a few different ways, but two of these might be: “Och, she’s a crackin lassie” (“Oh, she’s a really decent girl”), said when beaming at the mention of the name of a friend or acquaintance, and also in the more pejorative sense of “She’s jist a pure daft wee lassie” (“She’s nothing but a silly little girl”), which is very often applied to young women attempting to act beyond their years and failing to convince!
Phrase (as printed): let them awa’ and bile their heids
Phrase (if revised): let them awa an bile their heids
Phonetic transcription:
Book: ABOSA
pb: 106
hc: 74
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Let them go away and boil their heads (i.e., let them take their stress somewhere else). One of the superior Scots idioms, this still sees very regular use! We have one, in fact, that is even less tame. What Gaelic lacks in swearing and general nastiness, Scots makes up a hundredfold! Sitting at the back of the famous 62 bus after a night out in Glasgow’s feral city center, I have had the dubious but no less appreciated pleasure of overhearing the following conversation: Man, middle class, sixties: “Could you please put out that cigarette?” Lassie, straight off the housing scheme, thirties: “Ye gaunae geez an ashtray, then?” (“Would you please be so kind as to furnish me with an ashtray, then?”) Man: “Well, as you can imagine, I don’t happen to have one with me. Could you please find a way of extinguishing your cigarette?” Lassie: “Och, away an take yer face fur a shite, ya tumshie!” (“Oh, be off with you and facilitate the passing of feces through your mouth, you halfwit!”) In other words, your face might as well be your backside for all I’m willing to listen to you! Charming. On a completely unrelated note, I sometimes wonder whether “tumshie”/TUMshi/ is derived from tom-sìth/tom-shee/ “fairy mound.” It might be worth another look!
Phrase (as printed): lug
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 239
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Ear.
Phrase (as printed): m’ athair-cèile
Phrase (if revised): m’ athair-chéile
Phonetic transcription: /MA’her-CHAYLə
Book: FC
pb: 1439
hc: 975
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My father-in-law.”
Phrase (as printed): m’annsachd
Phrase (if revised): m’ annsachd
Phonetic transcription: /MAOWNsachk/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 253
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My best-beloved.”
Phrase (as printed): Mac Dubh
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: FC
pb: 28
hc: 20
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: Jamie’s nickname. Use of “black” in this manner most often appeared in nomenclature as the Anglicized Highland surname “Black,” common in Argyll, and it looked like this: MacGhilleDhuibh. Or it was slightly shortened to MacIlleDhuibh, literally “son of the black-haired servant.” The full form of a name given to Jamie in light of his father’s appearance would be something like this: Seumas, mac Bhriain dhuibh (James, son [of] black[-haired] Brian).
Phrase (as printed): mac na galladh
Phrase (if revised): mac na galla
Phonetic transcription: /machk nə GAlə/
Book: MOBY
pb: 189
hc: 137
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Son of the bitch.”
Phrase (as printed): MacIfrinn
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /machkEEFArin/
Book: EITB
pb: 952
hc: 677
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Son of hell.”
Phrase (as printed): MacLennan
Phrase (if revised): MacIllFhìnein
Phonetic transcription: /machkeeLEEnən/
Book: FC
pb: 16
hc: 12
Language:
Translation: “Son of the servant of St. Finan”: a common surname yet in the Western Isles, especially Lewis.
Phrase (as printed): MacNair
Phrase (if revised): Mac an Uibhir
Phonetic transcription: /machkən-YOOar/
Book:
FC
pb: 26
hc: 19
Language:
Translation: “Son of the sallow”: there were plenty of MacNairs in Cowal, Argyll, where I’m from, and one of them, Jimmy, just celebrated his 102nd birthday!
Phrase (as printed): MacNeill
Phrase (if revised): MacNéill
Phonetic transcription: /machkNYAIL/
Book: FC
pb: 27
hc: 19
Language:
Translation: “Son of Neil”: although the MacNeills had lands in Argyll, they are best known as the Barra clan par excellence, retaining the castle of Kisimul in Castlebay, an island well worth a visit if you happen to venture up to the Western Isles. I am happy to say that the Barraich are still proud of their language and culture and many will still speak Gaelic as a matter of preference!
Phrase (as printed): MacRae
Phrase (if revised): MacRàth
Phonetic transcription: /machKRAA/
Book: FC
pb: 71
hc: 48
Language:
Translation: “Son of the fortunate”: the MacRaes are a real Ross-shire family, like the MacKenzies, and are still a numerous bunch around their traditional seat of Eilean Dònain, the most photographed castle in Scotland.
Phrase (as printed): madain mhath
Phrase (if revised): madainn mhath dhut/dhuibh
Phonetic transcription: /MA’din VA ɣoocht/ɣooiy/
Book: FC
pb: 1208
hc: 818
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Good morning (to you)”: Gaels used greetings like this very sparingly until recent times, when the influence of English began to take a hold on our perception of how the language should be spoken. It was very natural to “praise the day,” as we called it, but this would more often than not be a genuinely intended observation on weather or times, rather than a flippant pleasantry.
Phrase (as printed): maduinn mhath, maighistear
Phrase (if revised): madainn mhath dhuibh, a mhaighstir
Phonetic transcription: /MA’din VA ɣui ə VAIYSHtchər/
Book: ABOSA
pb: 503
hc: 345
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Good morning, master”: I tend to always employ the old-fashioned dhut or dhuibh (to you) here, especially in this more formal occurrence.
Phrase (as printed): maighistear àrsaidh
Phrase (if revised): maighstir àrsaidh
Phonetic transcription: /maiyshtchər ARsi/
Book: ABOSA
pb: 1219
hc: 832
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Ancient master.”
Phrase (as printed): mar shionnach
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /mar HYIUnəch/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 249
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Like a fox.”
Phrase (as printed): Marsali
Phrase (if revised): Màrsaili
Phonetic transcription: /MARsali/
Book: FC
pb: 20
hc: 15
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Marjorie”: my mother’s given name!
Phrase (as printed): McGillivray
Phrase (if revised): MacGhilleBhraith
Phonetic transcription: /machGEELəvraiy/
Book: FC
pb: 35
hc: 25
Language:
Translation: “Son of the servant of judgment”: an old Argyll family from Mull and Morvern, who eventually came under the wing of the Clan Chattan federation. This surname has emerged from antiquity sounding rather melodramatic!
Phrase (as printed): mo airgeadach
Phrase (if revised): m’ airgeadach
Phonetic transcription: /MERRAg’dəch/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 240
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My silvery”: Jamie is likely referring to Claire’s skin here, as opposed to her hair, and while perhaps not common usage, there is nothing to say that he isn’t just improvising in his native tongue. There’s many a usage never caught on!
Phrase (as printed): mo brathair
Phrase (if revised): mo bhràthair
Phonetic transcription: /mo VRAhər/
Book: EITB
pb: 983
hc: 698
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My brother.”
Phrase (as printed): mo buidheag
Phrase (if revised): mo bhuidheag
Phonetic transcription: /mo VOOyək/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 240
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Goldfinch”: this can be used for any small yellow bird, as it means literally “little yellow.”
Phrase (as printed): mo charadean
Phrase (if revised): mo chàirdean
Phonetic transcription: /mo CHAARSHjin/
Book: FC
pb: 1361
hc: 923
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My friends/relatives”: Gaelic makes no distinction between friends and relatives, as people were so close-knit as communities until relatively recently in Gaelic-speaking Scotland that if a neighbor wasn’t your direct relative, you could bet your bottom dollar they’d be related to you somewhere back down the line. It was not unknown right into the 1970s for people to have rarely moved outside their home village. When interviewing one of our lovely old people from Argyll in 1975, my good friend David Clement got an unexpected answer to his question “An robh sibh riamh anns an Óban?” (“Were you ever in Oban?” which is Argyll’s main town.) “Cha robh! Cha d’ fhàg mi Loch Obha.” (“I was not! I never left Loch Awe.”) Oban is but ten miles from Loch Awe!
Phrase (as printed): mo charaid
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /mo CHAridge/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 244
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My friend.”
Phrase (as printed): mo cheann
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /mo CHYAOWN/
Book: FC
pb: 764
hc: 516
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “my head”: ceann often appears in Scottish placenames, Anglicised as Kin, referring to the extremity of a loch or other geographical feature, e.g. Ceann Loch Bearbhaigh /kyaown loch BERavi/ “the Head of loch Bervie” which has come out in Scots as Kinlochbervie.
Phrase (as printed): mo chridhe
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /mə CHREEə/
Book: ABOSA
pb: 209
hc: 145
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My heart.”
Phrase (as printed): mo chuilean
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /mo choolən/
Book: MOBY
pb: 910
hc: 660
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My puppy”: you can find this term of endearment in the song “Dèan Cadalan Sàmhach”/JEn CATalən SAAvəch/ (pronounced Dian/JEEan/ in the north), about an immigrant to the huge forested wastes of Canada during the 19th century. It is sung by, among others, the fantastic Karen Matheson and Capercaillie, on whom I practically raised myself. No one else in my home was interested in Gaelic or music! I am very pleased that my own children’s experience of cultural life is a vastly different one.
Phrase (as printed): mo chù
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /mo CHOO/
pb: 910
hc: 660
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My dog.”
Phrase (as printed): mo duinne
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 242
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: An incorrect Gaelic form, perhaps deriving from mo dhuine (my man)?
Phrase (as printed): mo fuil
Phrase (if revised): m’ fhuil
Phonetic transcription: /mool/
Book: FC
pb: 976
hc: 661
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My blood.”
Phrase (as printed): mo gaolach
Phrase (if revised): mo ghaolach
Phonetic transcription: /mə ɣÖLəch/
Book: ABOSA
pb: 229
hc: 158
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My beloved.”
Phrase (as printed): mo ghille
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /mo ɣEELə/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 252
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My boy, my lad.”
Phrase (as printed): mo ghràidh
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /mo ɣrAAiy/
Book: MOBY
pb: 911
hc: 661
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My dear.”
Phrase (as printed): mo gràdh ort, athair
Phrase (if revised): mo ghràdh oirbh, athair
Phonetic transcription: /mo ɣRAA awriv Ahər/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 253
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “I love you, Father”: literally “My love on you, oh, Father.”
Phrase (as printed): mo luaidh
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /mo LOOaiy/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 244
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “My beloved.”
Phrase (as printed): mo maise