Wild Land News no 69, Summer 2007

Perils of the Gaelic Notes and Queries

An Outer Hebridean Member has taken me to task over my review of 'Hostile Habitats' - I should know better than to slip in anything to do with the Gaelic. So I have gone back to author Mark Wrightham to check his sources. Firstly, if the gaelic for tormentil really is cara-mhil a'choin, it should only have that one hyphen, not three! But Tom Prentice has chipped in to point out that Collins Book of Scottish Wild Flowers gives it as cairt-làir.

Our member says he has never come across any derivation of Meall Corranaich as hill of the bracken corrie, from raineach. Tom has come to Mark's rescue, being bang up to date with the new edition of Peter Drummond's Scottish Hill Names. This states 'Meall Corranaich has several possible interpretations (including meall coire rainich, bracken corrie). but among them is hill of the sickle (corran)'.

David Jarman