Gàidhlig / English
Sluaisreadh

Sluaisreadh

Posted by Kate on 19th March 2015

The word sluaisreadh was recorded in Harris, and it is used to describe the way in which the sea beats on the shoreline: You can also use it to describe the motions of the in-coming tide.

There is a wider description of the word on our Fieldwork Archive,  which describes that particular beautiful ripple shape on the low-tide sand. It may be seen here that it’s not just the movement of the waves that is described but also the way in which they stroke and give shape to the sand, disturbing it enough to expose the shellfish buried underneath.

Iain Angus Macleod mentions this sound in Criomagan Ioma-dhathte, where he references the song “An t-Ataireachd Àrd.”

“To those whose childhood lullaby was the gentle ebbing purr of the sea, these words will bring back pleasant thoughts of home and parents, family, ancestors…this will give us the taste of the shifting sea, a view full of colours of blue, green and grey….and thousands of other things that can’t be told of, even in the Gaelic language.”

To me, the sound of the word is just as nice as the sound of the sea itself!

And remember to get in touch with us on Twitter or Facebook if you have ever heard of this word, or indeed if you have another word for it.

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