Gàidhlig / English
Luathaireach

Luathaireach

Posted by Edit on 11 May 2017

This week’s word is luathaireach. According to the Fieldwork Archive, this word seems to appear throughout the Highlands and Islands.
It is likely that luathaireach is connected to the word luath, meaning ‘early’ – in Dictionarium Scoto-Celticum, luathaireach is listed as meaning ‘precocious, immature.’

Among the results in the Fieldwork Archive, however, it seems like the word was mostly used when referring to agriculture and fishing. Luathaireach was, for instance, used in different places to describe early crops – in Lewis and Scalpay, Harris, potatoes that occurred early in the harvest time would be called buntàta luathaireach. According to the same informant from Scalpay, the term an t-iasgach luathaireach was also used for the herring fishing that took place in May and June (as is also mentioned here), whereas an t-iasgach fadalach was used for fishing that happened later during the summer.

Interestingly, another variation also appears for luathaireach: the expression clann luathaireach was recorded in Skye, meaning children that are restless, always on the move or up to something.

Are you familiar with these, or other, uses of luathaireach? As usual, you can let us know below or on Facebook or Twitter!
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