caileag

caileag

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From caile (“vulgar girl, quean, hussy, strumpet, maid servant”) +‎ -ag (“diminutive”). From Old Irish caile (“maid”); compare Breton plac’h (“girl”); Ancient Greek παλλακή (pallakḗ, “concubine”), Latin pellex.

Pronunciation

Noun

caileag f (genitive singular caileige, plural caileagan)

  1. girl, lass, damsel
    Synonyms: nighean, (Islay) caile
    • 1879, Traditional, “A Mhairi Bhinn, Mheall-Shuileach”, in The Gaelic Songster (An t-Oranaiche), Glasgow: A. Stewart, page 48:
      Cha b'e meud do stòrais
      A chuir mi fhéin an tòir ort,
      Ach caileag laghach, bhòidheach,
      Bhi còmhla rium ag éirigh.
      It was not the amount of your wealth
      That sent myself in pursuit of you,
      But a girl, pleasant, beautiful,
      To be rising together with me.
  2. European pollock (Pollachius pollachius)

Declension

Declension of caileag (class IIa feminine noun)
indefinite
singular plural
nominative caileag caileagan
genitive caileige, caileig chaileag
dative caileig caileagan; caileagaibh1
definite
singular plural
nominative (a') chaileag (na) caileagan
genitive (na) caileige, caileig (nan) caileag
dative (a') chaileig (na) caileagan; caileagaibh1
vocative chaileag chaileaga

1 archaic or poetic form

Mutation

Mutation of caileag
radical lenition
caileag chaileag

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

  1. ^ Oftedal, M. (1956), A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. III: The Gaelic of Leurbost, Isle of Lewis, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap
  2. ^ John MacPherson (1945) The Gaelic dialect of North Uist (Thesis)‎[1], Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh, page 98
  3. ^ Borgstrøm, Carl Hj. (1940), A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. I: The dialects of the Outer Hebrides, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap, pages 26, 132
  4. ^ Borgstrøm, Carl Hj. (1941), A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. II: The dialects of Skye and Ross-shire, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap, page 48
  5. ^ Holmer, Nils M. (1938), Studies on Argyllshire Gaelic, Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksells boktryckeri-A.-B., page 155

Further reading

  • MacBain, Alexander; Mackay, Eneas (1911), “caileag”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎[2], Stirling, →ISBN
  • “caileag” in Am Faclair Beag - Scottish Gaelic Dictionary.
  • “caileag” in Am Faclair Beag - Scottish Gaelic Dictionary.
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