Gàidhlig / English
Faclan Fèidh

Faclan Fèidh

Posted by Abi on 18 January 2018

This week I’m keeping to the theme of animals and writing about deer. According to our fieldwork archive it’s clear that there are many different, local words across Scotland for deer and stags.

The word greigh was found in Altan Dubh, Achiltibuie for a herd of deer and the word àbhaich was recorded in the Isle of Skye, though it is a word from Sutherland. An informant from Strathglass wrote that the word fiadh for deer comes from fiadhmhíola; ‘wild animals (deer, etc.); hence fiadh – a deer’ and that the old word for deer is os/ ois and that fiadh only means ‘wild’.

Another informant from Strathglass contributed the word procach for a one year old deer, as a one year old antler is like a proca, or a prong. Cabar-slait was collected in Ross-shire for a deer without a point on its antler and the word slat-chabrach was used in Torridon. It is also interesting that we have the word leth-chabrach for a deer missing an antler or a lobster with only one claw.

We have an interesting entry from Ness, Lewis. The word Feugarsaich was used for a local family which had a link with poaching in Sutherland;

“na Feugarsaich” applied to a certain family in Ness. A family name like, say “na Fìdhleirean”. Puilean told by a member of the family that the name applied to deer-poachers in Sutherland, where one of his ancestors had come from.

Bùireadh was collected in South Uist for rutting and we also have the word bùiraich from Harris. The deer make a mess (bùrach) while they are rutting (a’ bùirich) and so we have the word poll-búirean for an ‘area of ground churned underfoot by deer in the rutting season.’ My last word for you is a cruel one unfortunately, Cuilbhear; ‘used of a spurt of blood as knife is plunged into the belly of deer’.

As usual, if you know of any interesting or local words for deer, why not let us know through our Facebook or Twitter pages?
 
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