| 1. Ag ullachadh na talmhainn airson mòine a bhuain |
| mòinteach | general area, moorland, where peat is found. |
| blàr-mònadh | area comprising several peat-banks. |
| poll-mònadh | peat bank. |
| sgaoilteach | area over which peat is spread to dry (sgaoilteach mhath, droch sgaoilteach, etc.) |
| feanntach | turf covering the peat (riasg) which is removed when turfing (a’ feannadh). |
| rùsg | ditto [i.e. feanntach], but not commonly used. |
| a’ fosgladh puill (ùr) | opening a new bank. |
| a’ taomadh a’ phuill | draining a bank. |
| a’ glanadh nam poll | taking home the peats left on the banks through the winter, ready for the new season’s cutting. |
| a’ sussadh | (‘u’ pron. as in English ‘cutting’) undercutting the turf (feanntach [q.v.]), esp. when turf is difficult to cut. “Sus romhad e.” |
| a’ striachdadh | cutting a line parallel with edge of bank about 2' in, as the first operation in ‘feannadh’ [q.v.]. |
| a’ feannadh | turfing. |
| a’ rùsgadh | turfing. |
| a’ glanadh a’ charcaire | cleaning up the turfed peat (riasg) before cutting. |
| a’ càradh na feanntaich | replacing turfs neatly inside the bank (broinn a’ phuill) when turfing. |
| an carcaire | the peat (riasg) exposed by the ‘feannadh’ [q.v.]. |
| grabhag | (grabhag mònadh) a small peat-bank (common in Harris where peat is running out). |
| làrach cruaiche | site of a previous stack. |
| beul ( bial) a’ phuill | [pron.] the face of the bank. |
| aghaidh a’ phuill | the face of the bank. |
| aodann a’ phuill | the face of the bank. |
| iochdar a’ phuill | lower end of the bank. |
| broinn a’ phuill | inside of the bank. |
| druim a’ phuill | top of the bank, to which the ‘face’ is at right angles. |
| ceann a’ phuill | end (usually upper) of the bank. |
| 2. A’ buain na mònach; na h-innealan a chleachdar; ainmean nam fàdan, etc. |
| iarunn mònadh | peat iron or cutter. |
| taraisgeir | peat iron or cutter (not commonly used). |
| cas an iaruinn | the handle [of the peat iron]. |
| stehp (Eng. ‘step’) | step of the peat iron. |
| casachan | step of the peat iron. |
| smeachan | step of the peat iron (not in common use – probably a Lewis importation). |
| sàil an iaruinn | the ‘heel’ of the [peat] iron into which the ‘cas’ [q.v.] fits. |
| sgian | the cutting blade, the lower edge (faobhar) of which cuts the inner and larger plane of the individual peat, while the ‘sàil’ [q.v.] (at right angles to the ‘sgian’) cuts the narrower edge. |
| sgiath | [See sgian] |
| eighe | peat-iron (given by only one pupil – probably from a dictionary!). |
| spaid | spade – used for turfing. |
| mòine chruaidh, dhubh | hard, black type of peat. |
| mòine bhàn | spongy type of peat. |
| mòine chòsach | spongy type of peat. |
| mòine chailceach | peat mixed with clay. |
| mòine phrann | crumbly, brittle, black type of peat. |
| riasg | sedge or peat-moss, which is cut and dried for fuel. |
| barrad (barr-fhàd) | the first layer or tier of peat cut from a peat bank. |
| a’ chiad fhàd | the first layer or tier of peat cut from a peat bank. |
| an dara fàd | the 2nd layer [of peat cut from a peat bank]. |
| an treas fàd | the 3rd layer [of peat cut from a peat bank]. |
| an corrad (corr-fhàd) | the outside or first peat cut in each layer. |
| an caoran | the lowest layer cut [from a peat bank]. |
| fàd a’ chaorain | [See an caoran] |
| fàd a’ mhorghain | where the last layer [of peat] lies on gravel. |
| fàd morghain | [See fàd a’ mhorghain] |
| fàd feanntaich | where a bank has been opened on the site of a previous bank; such a ‘fàd’ is usually crumbly or spongy in the middle, where it often breaks. |
| gearradh eadar bhun is bhàrr | cutting without previous turfing, where turf is very thin or non-existent. |
| fear an iaruinn (fear air an iaruinn) | man operating the cutter. |
| fear a’ phuill (fear anns a’ pholl) | man taking and throwing out peat as cut. |
| (fear air an iarunn ’s fear anns a’ pholl ) | |
| a’ leagail (an iaruinn) | cutting (i.e. operating the ‘iarunn-mònadh’ [q.v.]). |
| a’ cur a mach | throwing out and spreading the peat. |
| a’ cath | throwing out and spreading the peat. |
| gàrradh | peats arranged along edge of bank in a kind of dyke. |
| fàd a’ ghàrraidh | the tier of peat which is put in the ‘dyke’ – usually the second, but this varies according to the number of tiers. |
| [fàd] | “Fàd na mo làimh, fàd air mo bhròig, ’s fàd air an iarunn”. Used by the person throwing out when the person cutting is going too fast. |
| feitheamh an fhòid | said when the cutter is too slow. |
| 3. A’ tiormachadh na mònach |
| a’ togail (na mònadh) | lifting, i.e. setting peat up to dry (general term). |
| coilleag | three or four peats on end, leaning against each other, with another placed flat on the top to form a small stack – in the initial lifting. (Tha i fhathast anns a’ choilleig.) |
| a’ coilleagachadh | lifting (i.e. into “coilleag”s). |
| rùdhan (plural rùdhain) | larger stack than ‘coilleag’ – 2nd stage in the drying process: perhaps 3 to 4 ‘coilleags’ heaped together. |
| ag ath-rudhadh | either re-forming the original ‘rùdhain’, or putting two or more together to make a still larger heap. |
| a’ cruachadh | making medium-sized stacks on the banks and ‘slating’ the peats to throw off the rain, if the peats are being left on the banks for some time. Such stacks may sometimes be ‘thatched’ (air an tughadh) with turf (‘sgrathan’). |
| 4. A’ cruachadh na mònach |
| a’ grìomhadh | building the outside of the peat-stack. |
| an grìomhadh | the outside ‘wall’ so build [sic]. |
| a’ tughadh | thatching the top of the stack (with ‘sgrathan’). |
| cruach ghrìomhaigh | a stack with the outside built (air a grìomhadh). |
| sgoran | buttress of turfs or divots (ceapan) usually placed one on each corner of a stack. “Cuir sgoran rithe.” |
| 5. A’ toirt na mònach dhachaigh; an cliabh, etc. |
| ag aiseag | where peats are cut on an island, ferrying them to the mainland. |
| a’ cur chun an rathaid | carrying peat from banks to road for transportation home. |
| a’ cur gu rathad | carrying peat from banks to road for transportation home. |
| a’ lìonadh | filling peat-bags ready for carrying to the road. |
| a’ tarruing (tarrainn) na mònadh | getting the peat home (by lorry etc.). |
| gàdag | rope used to support bag of peats being carried on the back. (cf. “gàdag ’s a dhà cheann sgaoilte”, metaphorically of assumptions based on dubious premises. Probably a rope of heather originally and if the two ends were ‘loose’ i.e. free to run, the rope would be unsafe.) |
| 6. Seòrsachan mònach |
| mòine chruaidh dhubh etc. | already given in Section 2. |
| ath-mhoin (ath-mhoine) | (pronounced ‘amhoinn’) last year’s peat still on the bank. |
| mòine thaiseallach | slow-burning or long-lasting peat. |
| mòine gharbh | peat cut very big. |
| [urpull] | Tha a’ mhòine air a dhol ’na h-urpuill (leis an uisge). When peat is swollen with rain. Geàrr ’na h-urpuill i – cut it big. (Cf. urpull de bhalach – a big lump of a boy.) |
| 7. Faclan eile |
| obair iaruinn | amount of work expected of a team of two people in a day, or a certain number of yards which had to be cut before wages could be claimed. |
| bha dà iarunn aige muigh | idiomatic usage: “He had two teams out peat-cutting for him”, i.e. 4 people. |
| eallacol | bits of peat – akin to ‘caorain’ – which dry on the face of the bank, or in gashes and holes in the bank, and used to be gathered, of old, when stocks of peat were running low. |
