DASG Blog

Na Meuran

About a month ago, I went around the amazing folk-life museum, Auchindrain, Argyll, with Àdhamh Ó Broin. One day, perhaps I will be fluent enough in the dialect of that area to write something more substantial about it. Over the course of the weekend we were there, the names of the fingers came up in conversation. I was reminded how much they vary, according to where you are. It is well worth celebrating such a rich and various vocabulary.

You will see in the blog Àdhamh wrote for us on Seanchas, that he learnt the following phrases from Robert MacVicar, who got Mull Gaelic from his mother: ‘òrdag, corragag, mealla-fada, mac an lùba, lùdag.You will also see that a’ chrionag, is how the smallest finger is known in Glen Urquhart. The following phrase was collected in Lewis: cha tigeadh thu lùdag na dh’ òrdaig air, or, literally, you won’t come pinky finger or thumb over him, or you won’t out-smart him! I would certainly say the like of someone who could name the fingers by all their Gaelic names from every corner of the Gàidhealtachd.

You will read in Saoghal Bana-mharaiche, in the Corpus, that there are a wide variety of names, from sgealbag to calagag, to cearrag and colbhag, as it has been recorded for us. These are just some of the names for the index finger.

The middle finger is known as fionna-fad, (or long hair of a beast) Fionnladh/Màiri fhada (long Finlay/Màiri), and an t-seaman fada, as was recorded in Saoghal Bana-mharaiche. The Gael has quite a way of visualising such common things. I wasn’t sure of the meaning of an t-seaman, and I was surprised to find that this can mean the tail of a beast, as well as a couple of other things!

Macanaba, or son of the abbot, is common enough amongst modern Gaelic-speakers, but it can also be known as mathair an lùdaige, or the mother of the smallest finger. It seems quite appropriate that the smallest finger would be known as plaosgag, when you look at the meaning. The smallest finger is quite a slender, pretty, womanly finger! Am Faclair Beag confirmed for me that a caoiteag is a whiting, or cuiteag, as we know it on the Fieldwork Archive, and what is also known by the pinky finger.  See also frìdeag. Take a look at what the Lochaber folk say for the fingers:

Òrdag, miarag, gille fada, macanaba, girgean.

I was interested in the following phrase: An òrdag,’S a chorrag,’S a mheur-fhada,’S nic an t-sraididh, ’S lughdag bheag an airgid!’ I particularly liked nic an t-sraididh, or daughter of the sparks! Do any of you have a particularly flammable ring finger? Isn’t it interesting, that this finger is always a son, or a daughter or a mother?! The others on the course thought that it couldn’t be possible that an abbot would have a son, but were the Gaels never fond of a cheeky joke?!

I learnt a wee rhyme from the wonderful book, Arainn nam Beann, in which you’ll find many a rhyme and a song in Gaelic and Scots, from the Isle of Arran:

This is the one who knocked over the barn
This is the one who stole the seed
This is the one stood watching
This is the one who ran away
This is the one who had to pay for everything!

The pronunciation of a few of these rhymes can be heard here.


There is far too much vocabulary available in the Fieldwork Archive connected to the fingers. One blog will not do it all justice. Do take a look at what is available, and get in touch on Facebook and Twitter.