Gàidhlig / English
Boinne-gamhnaich

Boinne-gamhnaich

Posted by Edit on Thursday 24th March 2016
This week’s word is boinne-gamhnaich. It was collected in the Lochs district of the Isle of Lewis (as can be seen from the spelling) and according to DASG's Fieldwork Archive it refers to a violet that flowers early in spring, around the end of March.

The literal meaning of boinne-gamhnaich is ‘milk of the farrow’, farrow meaning a cow that has a one-year-old or older calf but is still producing milk. According to this report, for example, the milk produced by farrows is said to be just as good, or even better, than the milk of a cow with a young calf. As such, it may be assumed that boinne-gamhnaich is used as a name for this flower in order to signify that it grows well on soil that has been barren throughout the winter months.

A similar plant name, bainne-bò-gamhnach, appears in Dwelly’s dictionary with the meaning ‘lousewort’, a flower that is native to the Western Isles. Though this form of the name was (according to Dwelly) gathered in Colonsay, it is likely that it refers to the same plant. The website Virtual Hebrides also mentions that lousewort grows on damper and more barren soil than most other plants, which could further explain the use of boinne-gamhnaich/bainne-bò-gamhnach for this plant.

Anyway, we are happy that the weather has got a bit warmer and that flowers such as boinne-gamhnaich can grow again!

If you are familiar with boinne-gamhnaich as a plant name, or know something more about the significance of this name, please feel free to share your thoughts with us here. 
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