| suraladh | a word which is used in the context of weather forecasting. Would be heard as “Chan eil suraladh orra an diugh ach uisge is gaoth.” Therefore the translation would be “Nothing can be expected today but wind and rain.” |
| bùrsach | windy, wet weather conditions. Also in the sense of someone who took a severe bout of drinking – “Nach e a ghabh a’ bhùrsach.” |
| fearadhaire | two suns. Seen in autumn and taken as a sign of bad weather to follow. |
| ceann dearg | a fragment of rainbow seen in the evening and taken as a sign of good weather to follow. |
| [bad weather] | It was a sign of future bad weather if a star was seen close to a new moon. |
| ròpadh a mach | handing out in a steady stream. |
| onathadh air a’ mhuir | increasing noise and swelling of waves. |
| maolaidhean móra | large rolling waves which were characterised by the fact that they did not break. |
| a’ bristeadh | that area of sea about half a mile from the shore where the waves began to break. |
| smùchan uisge | a drizzle of rain. |
| ròdhanaich na Samhna | have described this previously. In addition to that, sea bent (muran) was ripe at this time of year and large amounts of this would be cut and taken home. |
| sòpag (-an) | a large stook of sea bent. |
| trògh | a rope made from sea bent. Used for securing haystacks. |
| crosgadh | in the sense of gathering the lengths of rope which would be on the floor from one end of the house to the other – “A’ crosgadh suas an trògh.” |
| ruidh (-eanan) | length(s). |
| iomaire ceannachaidh neo bòrdairean | part of a field characterised by wet, soggy conditions in which grass flourished. Usually found at one end of the field. |
| putharan | a disease which affected corn and oats. Ears of the crop would be white in colour and prone to disintegrate when shaken or touched. |
| stuth a’ phutharain | serecen, a powder which was used as a preventive measure. |
| trìleach | used to mean a struggle. “Nach ann a bha an trìleach.” |
| rém | the rim of a wheel. |
| beairt thuairnearachd | a lathe. |
| cìreadh | this was the removal of chaff from the meal once it had been hardened and ground. A sieve was used for this process. |
| clach eorna | this was a large rock found on croft land in which a large hole would be cut. This hole could accommodate a bucketful of grain which would be ground into flour or the husks taken off. |
| odaigh | going back to the Feast Days when horse racing was a prominent activity. This word means a horse race. |
| ruith bheag, mhór | specified distance for horse races set out on appropriate machair land. |
| iorrapais | would be said of an excitable or nervous person or animal – “Dè an iorrapais a tha air an fhear ud.” |
| clach a’ ghlag | a warning stone between land and an offshore island. One in a series of stepping stones. Previously described under ‘clach fhairachaidh’ given by Mr J. O’Henley. |
| Cearghal | informant is not sure whether this means Carl or Gerald. Arises at the southmost point of Baleshare in North Uist as ‘tobhta Chearghail’. Thought to have Norse origin. |
| cluamhain | a floodgate. Also in the sense of a wooden latch on older doors. |
| marsanta falbhainn | a travelling merchant who sold small essentials such as tea and tobacco. |
| cromadh | a measurement of tobacco, about four inches long. Usually measured by using your middle finger, taking the length between the knuckle and the fingertip as measuring four inches. Women used this measurement when knitting socks. |
| filleag (-an) | nowadays this is used in the sense of a wrapper. Also used to mean thin garments which did nothing to keep one warm. |
| àmhghair | hardship. |
| ròob | this is the same word as ‘radhp’? in South Uist and means a sale of the possessions of a recently deceased person. |
| fangadh | to pen in or hem in, e.g. when talking of the Highland clearances the people could be said to have been hemmed in small plots of land near the coastline – “air am fangadh shios mu na cladaichean”. |
| àt bhuinn | a festering blister on the bottom of your foot. |
| còb | a floodgate which usually consisted of a large rock. |
| pleidhigeadh | to be plagued with work. |
| sìde sgliamach | cloudy, overcast weather conditions with the sky having a dirty squalid look about it. |
| càidseadh | begging, bumming. |
| giamanach | a big, strong man. Also used of a large fish. |
| baisteadh | not in the sense of baptising but of distillation of whisky, e.g. “Uisge beatha gun bhaisteadh.” |
| a’ dol ro chòraichean | to ponder minutely before taking a decision. |
| gearnalair | a gardener. |
| cranndairachd | crooning. Informant refers to a local character sitting in a corner crooning old songs and tunes. |
| trìnns | an iron dam which could be opened when required. |
| còblaichean bhròg | old shoes which are well worn. |
| binneag | referring to the gables of a house. “Nach ann air a tha a’ bhinneag laghach.” |
| struth lionaidh | when tide is coming in. |
| Chuir mi i air a’ bhuaraich | an expression heard in times past when a fisherman had anchored his boat. |
| tuainteag (-ean [sic]) | the string in a sail with which you made reefs in the sail. |
| còpar uisge | flooding of a bit of land with which a drain cannot cope. |
