991: ‘Cathair’ (1) 991: ‘Cathair’ (1)
Litir shìmplidh sheachdaineach do luchd-ionnsachaidh le clàr-fuaime, tar-sgrìobhadh is eadar-theangachadh. A simple weekly letter to Gaelic learners with audio, transcription and translation.
Tha an litir bheag 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 little 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.
‘Cathair’ (1)
Bidh sibh eòlach air an fhacal cathair. Seo na chanas am faclair Brìgh nam Facal: Cathair: Suidheachan, mar as trice le cùl; sèithear.
Thathar a’ smaoineachadh gun tàinig am facal cathair a-steach don Ghàidhlig bhon Laidinn cathedra. Tha am faclair Laidinn agam ag innse seo dhomh: Cathedra: armchair, sedan chair, teacher’s chair. Thàinig chair agus cathedral a-steach don Bheurla bho cathedra.
Tha seo ann am faclair Dwelly: Cathair: chair, seat, bench, throne. Tha ciall eile air an fhacal, ge-tà. A rèir Dwelly – town, city, fortified city. A bheil sin na iongnadh? Cha bu chòir a bhith. Oir tha ceangal ann eadar cathair agus baile-mòr. Bha cathair a’ seasamh airson cathedra – a’ chathair mhòr anns am biodh easbaig na shuidhe. Ann an cuid de dhùthchannan, b’ e ‘baile-mòr’ no city baile anns an robh easbaig suidhichte. Ann am Beurla, canaidh sinn cathedral ri eaglais dhen t-seòrsa sin. Agus dè a’ Ghàidhlig air cathedral? Tha – cathair-eaglais.
Mar sin, tha cathair leatha fhèin a’ ciallachadh ‘city’ cuideachd. Cathair no cathair-bhaile. Airson ‘the city centre’, canaidh sinn meadhan a’ bhaile, meadhan a’ chathair-bhaile no meadhan na cathrach.
Tha am facal cadair no cader ann an Cuimris a’ ciallachadh ‘chair’ ach cuideachd ‘stronghold, fort or mountain shaped like a chair’. Tha beinn ainmeil anns a’ Chuimrigh air a bheil Cader Idris. Tha sin a’ ciallachadh Cathair Idris. B’ e Idris an dàrna cuid famhair ann am beul-aithris no prionnsa Cuimreach anns na meadhan-aoisean – Idris ap Gwyddno. Tha cader no cadair ann an Cuimris car coltach ri cathair ann an Gàidhlig. Agus thàinig an dà fhacal bhon aon fhreumh – cathedra ann an Laidinn.
Ach a bheil am facal cathair a’ nochdadh ann an co-cheangal ri cnuic no beanntan ann an ainmean-àite Gàidhlig mar a tha sa Chuimrigh? Uill, tha – agus bheir sinn sùil orra an-ath-sheachdain.
‘Cathair’ (1)
You’ll know the word cathair. Here’s what the dictionary Brìgh nam Facal says: Cathair: Suidheachan, mar as trice le cùl; sèithear.
It’s thought that the word cathair came into Gaelic from the Latin cathedra. My Latin dictionary tells me this: Cathedra: armchair, sedan chair, teacher’s chair. ‘Chair’ and ‘cathedral’ came into the English language from cathedra.
This is what is in Dwelly’s dictionary: Cathair: chair, seat, bench, throne. The word has another meaning, however. According to Dwelly – town, city, fortified city. Is that a surprise? It shouldn’t be. Because there is a connection between cathair and ‘city’. Cathair stands for cathedra – the throne on which a bishop would sit. In some countries a ‘city’ is a town in which a bishop is situated. In English, we call a church of that nature a ‘cathedral’. And what is the Gaelic for cathedral? Cathair-eaglais.
Thus, cathair on its own also means ‘city’. Cathair or cathair-bhaile. For ‘the city centre’, we say meadhan a’ bhaile, meadhan a’ chathair-bhaile or meadhan na cathrach.
The word cadair or cader in Welsh means ‘chair’ but also ‘stronghold, fort or mountain shaped like a chair’. There is a famous mountain in Wales called Cader Idris. That means Cathair Idris. Idris was either a giant in oral tradition or a Welsh prince in the middle ages – Idris ap Gwyddno. Cader or cadair in Welsh is rather like cathair in Gaelic. And both words came from the same root – cathedra in Latin.
But does the word cathair appear in connection with hills or mountains in Gaelic place names as it does in Wales? Well, yes – and we’ll have a look at them next week.
‘Cathair’ (1)
Bidh sibh eòlach air an fhacal cathair. Seo na chanas am faclair Brìgh nam Facal: Cathair: Suidheachan, mar as trice le cùl; sèithear.
Thathar a’ smaoineachadh gun tàinig am facal cathair a-steach don Ghàidhlig bhon Laidinn cathedra. Tha am faclair Laidinn agam ag innse seo dhomh: Cathedra: armchair, sedan chair, teacher’s chair. Thàinig chair agus cathedral a-steach don Bheurla bho cathedra.
Tha seo ann am faclair Dwelly: Cathair: chair, seat, bench, throne. Tha ciall eile air an fhacal, ge-tà. A rèir Dwelly – town, city, fortified city. A bheil sin na iongnadh? Cha bu chòir a bhith. Oir tha ceangal ann eadar cathair agus baile-mòr. Bha cathair a’ seasamh airson cathedra – a’ chathair mhòr anns am biodh easbaig na shuidhe. Ann an cuid de dhùthchannan, b’ e ‘baile-mòr’ no city baile anns an robh easbaig suidhichte. Ann am Beurla, canaidh sinn cathedral ri eaglais dhen t-seòrsa sin. Agus dè a’ Ghàidhlig air cathedral? Tha – cathair-eaglais.
Mar sin, tha cathair leatha fhèin a’ ciallachadh ‘city’ cuideachd. Cathair no cathair-bhaile. Airson ‘the city centre’, canaidh sinn meadhan a’ bhaile, meadhan a’ chathair-bhaile no meadhan na cathrach.
Tha am facal cadair no cader ann an Cuimris a’ ciallachadh ‘chair’ ach cuideachd ‘stronghold, fort or mountain shaped like a chair’. Tha beinn ainmeil anns a’ Chuimrigh air a bheil Cader Idris. Tha sin a’ ciallachadh Cathair Idris. B’ e Idris an dàrna cuid famhair ann am beul-aithris no prionnsa Cuimreach anns na meadhan-aoisean – Idris ap Gwyddno. Tha cader no cadair ann an Cuimris car coltach ri cathair ann an Gàidhlig. Agus thàinig an dà fhacal bhon aon fhreumh – cathedra ann an Laidinn.
Ach a bheil am facal cathair a’ nochdadh ann an co-cheangal ri cnuic no beanntan ann an ainmean-àite Gàidhlig mar a tha sa Chuimrigh? Uill, tha – agus bheir sinn sùil orra an-ath-sheachdain.
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Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh
This letter corresponds to Tha an Litir seo a’ buntainn ri Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh 1295
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