| sòrnach de chlach | a circular stone wall built outdoors in which a fire would be lit. Not very high. |
| wuidhain | a chimney. Unusual to have this ‘w’ sound and you might be able to spell it better. Must be a variation on ‘luidhair’. [NOTES: note added above ‘w’ in ‘wuidhain’ – l?] |
| sòrnach de theine | applied to a good going fire. |
| sargainn | sarking. |
| ròpa ruadh | a rope tied bits of wood together instead of using nails as we do nowadays. |
| car-shùgan | an instrument used for making rope. Consisted of a bit of cylindrical wood with a hook at one end for twisting the heather, mane or whatever. [NOTES: a question mark added in the margin.] |
| obair eallaich | work that involved carrying heavy weights on your shoulders. |
| dromanach | applied to the bit of wood which stretched across a horse’s back and which were [sic] used to carry baskets. |
| tais | damp. |
| poca bolla | a canvas bag able to take 140 lbs of weight. |
| buiseal | this was a wooden tub which could hold the contents of one of these bags [i.e. poca bolla (q.v.)]. [NOTES: note added – from ‘bushel’.] |
| peice | 1 peck. A round barrel with a division in the middle which could be inserted so you could get a half peck. This was the instrument which the miller used to calculate his fee. |
| màs | bottom of something. |
| moughtainn | this was the name given to the miller’s fee or payment. Everyone that used the mill had to pay a fee according to the amount of flour they left with. [NOTES: note added above ‘moughtainn’ – mobhdainn.] |
| iomallaid | exchange. |
| roth mhór | mill wheel. |
| creallagan | mechanical wheels with iron teeth which gripped against each other helping to drive the mill wheel. |
| aotroman | a screw which could be tightened or loosened depending on whether you wanted coarse or fine grain. |
| triunnse | this was the chute which carried the water down to the mill wheel. [NOTES: corrected to ‘truinnse’.] |
| pucaidean na roth | bits of wood on the actual mill wheel which caught the descending water and helped in the revolving process. Like wooden steps. |
| chlach mhuilinn | grinding stone. |
| ciste mhin | a wooden chest with sides and four legs. The flour gathered here after being ground. |
| breacadh | process whereby the grinding stones were serviced. The stones were roughened by a chipping hammer so that they would perform more effectively. |
| dearragan | derricks. Used for hoisting the stones when they were to be serviced. |
| camhraich | a drink made from barley. Nutritious. [NOTES: note added – cf. cabhraich.] |
| leann nan [sic] biast | a home-made beer consisting of water, sugar, treacle and hops. |
| sgèip | chaff. |
| ròcach | dusk. Describes an evening when it was not fully dark. [NOTES: corrected to ‘rocach’.] |
| mogainn | the hair on a horse’s lower foot. [NOTES: corrected to ‘mogain’.] |
| geindean | wooden wedges which were pointed. |
| ùird fhiodha | wooden hammers for striking the above wedges [i.e. geindean (q.v.).] |
| toimhsean | weights and measures. |
| làthach | yellowy, slimy sand which was dangerous if a person entered such an area. No grounding. Very much like a quagmire. |
| duine coingais air mùir neo tìr | describes a capable and fit man. A fit person is more accurate. [NOTES: ‘coingais’ underlined and a question mark added in the margin.] |
| sòrn na h-uinnaig | this describes that feature of a window frame which has a lipped design. Especially in older windows, most of the wood on the inside of a window is finished in a curved or pointed style. Difficult to describe in words. |
| liannail | something that is common. [NOTES: corrected to ‘lianail’.] |
| sgrùthan | another name for a small corn rick. More often called a ‘toit’. |
| meall | for an accumulation or a batch of some commodity or other. More often this would be expressed as ‘tonn’ in Uist. “Fhuair mi deagh thonn mònadh dhachaidh an diugh.” |
| [tonn] | [See meall.] |
| lion an daiman allaidh | usually seen in the late afternoon. A pattern of light lines is visible on the grass. Indicative of rain to follow. |
| sòc sabhaidh | two wooden tressels [sic] [trestles?] evenly spaced out. Beam of wood would then be cut. Perhaps this should be ‘slòc’ and not ‘sòc’. [NOTES: ‘sòc’ corrected to ‘soc’ and ‘sabhaidh’ to ‘sàbhaidh’.] |
| mùntadh | this was the term applied to all the dressing that was needed in preparing a coffin. Included nails, handles, linen, brass plates, etc. [NOTES: corrected to ‘muntadh’.] |
| ròdha | a large river which is left on the shore once the tide has ebbed. |
| oighreachd | estate. |
| gliogaid | ramshackle. |
| splughan / splughadh (both forms used) | a makeshift repair or more precisely someone who was noted for making such repairs. [NOTES: note added above ‘u’ in ‘splughan / splughadh’ – a.] |
| costraichean | in these parts. “A bheil sion a’ dol a bhos ’s na costraichean seo?” |
