Gàidhlig / English
Cire

Cire

Posted by Shona on Thursday 2nd February 2017
‘Cire’ is our Word of the Week which refers to lambs and sheep.

There are a couple of different meanings for ‘cire’ in the DASG Fieldwork archive. In Swainbost on the Isle of Lewis, ‘cire’ (plural=cireachan) is a term used for lambs from the time they are taken in for winter feeding till they go back to the moor. After this they are then called “othaisgean,” a one-year old lamb.

‘Cire’ was also collected from informants in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and Glasgow (though originally from Camuscross in Skye) with a slightly different use. Here ‘cire’ was given as a call to sheep or “cirean” a call to lambs.

An informant from Scalpay, Harris, gave ‘cnàmh-a-cire’ and ‘cnàmh-a-chire’, meaning “chewing the cud” in the case of a cow or bull.

In Dwelly’s Gaelic Dictionary, similar word ‘ciora’, ‘ciorag’ and ‘ciridh’ are recorded, which are very similar to the common word for sheep, ‘caora,’ as is ‘cire’.

Have you heard ‘cire’ or any of these other words before? Or do you know of other words and phrases with a similar meaning or use? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.
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