Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
caileag. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
caileag, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
caileag in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
caileag you have here. The definition of the word
caileag will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
caileag, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
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)
- girl, lass, damsel
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.
- European pollock (Pollachius pollachius)
Mutation
| Scottish Gaelic mutation
|
| Radical
|
Lenition
|
| caileag |
chaileag
|
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
|
Further reading
- MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “caileag”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Stirling, →ISBN
- “caileag” in Am Faclair Beag - Scottish Gaelic Dictionary.
- “caileag” in Am Faclair Beag - Scottish Gaelic Dictionary.