1332: Faclair Armstrong (3)
Litir sheachdaineach do luchd-ionnsachaidh le clàr-fuaime, tar-sgrìobhadh is mìneachadh. A weekly letter to Gaelic learners with audio, transcription and explanation.
Tha an litir ag obrachadh leis an fhaclair. Tagh an taba ‘teacsa Gàidhlig’ agus tagh facal sam bith san teacsa agus fosglaidh am faclair ann an taba ùr agus bidh mìneachadh den fhacal ann. The letter is integrated with the dictionary. Select the tab ‘Gaelic text’ and choose any word and the dictionary will open and you will see the English explanation of the Gaelic word.
Faclair Armstrong (3)
Tha sinn a’ toirt sùil air faclan às an fhaclair aig Raibeart Armstrong, a chaidh fhoillseachadh dà cheud bliadhna air ais. Tha sinn aig an litir ‘n’. Agus seo agaibh am facal a thagh mi – nigheachan. Tha e stèidhichte air nigh ‘wash, bathe, cleanse’. Tha nigheachan a’ ciallachadh ‘a washing of linen’. Tha Armstrong a’ toirt seo dhuinn: bean nigheachain ‘a laundress’ agus taigh nigheachain ‘a washing-house or laundry’.
ʼS e an ath fhacal agam osna ‘sigh, sob, groan, breeze, blast’. Leig i osna ‘she sighed, let out a sigh’. Tha osnach agus osnachail a’ ciallachadh ‘sighing, sobbing’. Tha an gnìomhair osnaich ann. Bha mi ag osnaich leam fhèin ‘I was sighing in solitude’.
Tha sinn a-nise aig ‘p’. Thagh mi am facal pailleart ‘a slap given with the palm of the hand’. Pailleart. Tha MacBheathain ag ràdh gun tàinig e bho palm-bheart ‘palm-action’ bhon Laidinn palma ‘palm’. Tha am buadhair pailleartach ann – ‘ready to slap with the hand’ – agus an gnìomhair pailleartaich ‘slap with the hand’.
Fo ‘r’, tha am facal rèite againn. Saoilidh mi gu bheil am facal cudromach anns an latha sa bheil sinn beò. Tha e a’ ciallachadh ‘reconciliation, agreement, settlement’. Seach a bhith an ugannan a chèile, bu chòir don dà thaobh thighinn gu rèite. Tha sinn feumach air tuilleadh rèiteachairean anns an t-saoghal.
Chan eil air fhàgail againn anns an aibidil Ghàidhlig a-nise ach trì litrichean. Fo ‘s’, bu mhath leam sùil a thoirt air an fhacal sìor. Tha e a’ ciallachadh ‘ever, forever, continually, eternally’. Tha Armstrong a’ toirt seo dhuinn: Thuit mo ghrian gu sìor ‘my sun has set for ever’. Tha e cuideachd ag innse dhuinn [that] sìor ‘is often prefixed to a word to denote continuance or perpetuity’.
Seo eisimpleirean dheth on fhaclair: sìor atharrachadh ‘continual fluctuation or shifting’. Tha poileasaidh a’ phàrtaidh a’ sìor atharrachadh ‘the party’s policy is always changing’. Tha sìor-bhualadh ann – ‘a continued striking, constant thumping’. Chuala mi sìor-bhualadh nan drumaichean.
Tha sìor-chainnteach a’ ciallachadh ‘extremely garrulous, continually talking’. Sìor-chainnteach. Agus sìor-iarraidheach ‘troublesome by reason of frequent requests or petitions’. Sìor-iarraidheach.
Agus sìor-uisgeach. Saoil dè tha sin a’ ciallachadh? Sìor-uisgeach. Uill, math dh’fhaodte gum bi am facal feumail ann an Alba aig amannan. Sìor-uisgeach – ‘raining continually’!
Tha sinn a-nise aig ‘t’ agus am facal tearc. Tha e a’ ciallachadh ‘few, rare, scarce’. Tha am facal tearcad ann cuideachd – ‘scarceness, rareness’. Bidh sinn ga chleachdadh anns an abairt a’ dol an tearcad ‘becoming scarcer’.
Mu dheireadh am facal utag ‘a shove, a push, a jostle’. Cuideachd ‘strife, confusion, uproar’. Cha toigh le duine againn a bhith ann an àite utagach. ʼS fheàrr leam fhìn sìth an fhaclair Ghàidhlig!
Faclan na Litreach: gnìomhair: verb; MacBheathain: [Alexander] MacBain; buadhair: adjective; rèiteachail: conciliatory; tearcad: scarceness, rareness; utag: a shove, push, jostle.
Abairtean na Litreach: Tha sinn a’ toirt sùil air faclan às an fhaclair aig Raibeart Armstrong: we are looking at words from Robert Armstrong’s dictionary; a chaidh fhoillseachadh dà cheud bliadhna air ais: that was published two hundred years ago; thagh mi am facal: I chose the word; saoilidh mi gu bheil am facal cudromach: I reckon the word is important; tha sinn feumach air tuilleadh rèiteachairean anns an t-saoghal: we need more conciliators in the world; chan eil air fhàgail againn anns an aibidil Ghàidhlig a-nise ach trì litrichean: we only have three letters left in the Gaelic alphabet; seo eisimpleirean dheth on fhaclair: here are examples of it from the dictionary; chuala mi sìor-bhualadh nan drumaichean: I heard the continuous banging of the drums; cha toigh le duine againn a bhith ann an àite utagach: none of us wishes to be in a place full of strife/uproar; ʼs fheàrr leam fhìn sìth an fhaclair Ghàidhlig: I myself prefer the peace of the Gaelic dictionary.
Puing-chànain na Litreach: Seach a bhith an ugannan a chèile, bu chòir don dà thaobh thighinn gu rèite: instead of being at each other’s throats, the two sides should come to an accommodation. Ugannan [plural] refers to the region of the upper chest to the throat. An idiomatic equivalent is an amhaichean a chèile, where amhaichean [plural] refers to the neck. An achlaisean a chèile is very different and refers to an extremely friendly relationship [literally ‘in each other’s armpits’]. Bha iad a’ coiseachd an achlaisean a chèile ‘they were walking arm-in-arm’.
Gnàthas-cainnt na Litreach: an latha sa bheil sinn beò: the current time [literally ‘the day in which we are alive’]
Tha “Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh” air a maoineachadh le MG ALBA
Download the text of this week's letter as a PDF:Thoir a-nuas Litir mar PDF:
PDF documents are especially suited for printing out. Most computers can open PDF files, but if you have problems viewing them you may need to install reader software such as Tha faidhleachan PDF gu sònraichte math airson clò-bhualadh. Tha e furasta gu leòr do chuid de choimpiutairean faidhleachan PDF fhosgladh, ach ma tha trioblaid agad ‘s dòcha gum biodh e feumail bathar-bog mar Adobe Acrobat Reader. fhaighinn.
Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh
This letter corresponds to Tha an Litir seo a’ buntainn ri An Litir Bheag 1028
Podcast
BBC offers this litir as a podcast: Visit the programme page for more info and to download or subscribe. Tha am BBC a’ tabhainn seo mar podcast. Tadhail air an duilleag-phrògraim airson barrachd fiosrachaidh no airson podcast fhaighinn