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Ann an Litir mìle, naochad ʼs a sia (1096), bha mi ag innse dhuibh mu Raibeart Gilleasbuig Armstrong, fear-teagaisg agus faclairiche à Siorrachd Pheairt. Rinn e faclair Gàidhlig ainmeil ann an ochd ceud deug is còig air fhichead (1825). Thug sinn ²õù¾±±ô air faclan fillte bhon fhaclair sin ann an Litrichean seachd ceud, seachdad ʼs a còig (775) agus seachd ceud, seachdad ʼs a sia (776). Leis gu bheil am faclair dà cheud bliadhna a dh’aois am-bliadhna, shaoil mi gum biodh e iomchaidh agus inntinneach ²õù¾±±ô às ùr a thoirt air.

Tha mi a’ dol a thaghadh faclan a tha a’ tòiseachadh le gach litir dhen aibidil. An toiseach, am facal ྱ±ô±ô±ð. Tha e a’ ciallachadh ‘beauty, handsomeness, comeliness’. Tha Armstrong a’ toirt dhuinn dà eisimpleir: thàinig i na h-ྱ±ô±ô±ð ‘she came in her beauty’ agus ྱ±ô±ô±ð talmhaidh ‘earthly beauty’. Às ྱ±ô±ô±ð, tha sinn a’ faighinn nam faclan ྱ±ô±ô±ðach ‘beautiful’ agus ྱ±ô±ô±ðachd ‘beauty’.Ìý

Tha ྱ±ô±ô±ðag a’ ciallachadh ‘pretty young maid’ agus tha ྱ±ô±ô±ðan a’ ciallachadh ‘a young beau’. Tha am facal ྱ±ô±ô±ðagan ann cuideachd – ‘a term of affection for a young person; a pretty maid’ agus cuideachd ‘a little jewel’. Àilleagan. Tha ྱ±ô±ô±ðanta a’ ciallachadh ‘beautiful, handsome,’ agus tha ྱ±ô±ô±ðantachd ann cuideachd – ‘personal beauty’. Agus àillidh ‘bright, resplendent, beauteous, fair’.

A-nise, an litir ‘b’. Tha mi air ainm-àite a thaghadh – Baile-Mhòid le ‘mhòid’ air a litreachadh M-H-O fada-I-D. Tha e a’ ciallachadh ‘Rothesay, literally, the town where the court of justice is held’. Dh’fhaodamaid eadhon a ràdh ‘the town where the Mod is held’! Co-dhiù, tha sin inntinneach oir, anns an latha an-diugh, tha na sgoilearan ag ràdh gur e Rothesay Baile Bhòid le ‘b’, a’ ciallachadh ‘the town of Bute’. Chaidh a chlàradh mar sin ann am bàrdachd Ghàidhlig aig deireadh an ochdamh linn deug.

Fon litir ‘c’, tha mi air facal gu math feumail a thaghadh – caog. Tha caog na ainmear agus na ghnìomhair. Tha e a’ ciallachadh ‘wink’ no ‘take aim by shutting the eye’ – rud a bhios boghadair a’ dèanamh. Tha e cuideachd a’ ciallachadh ‘connive’.Ìý

Tha am faclairiche a’ toirt na h-abairt seo dhuinn: caog ris ‘wink at him’. Agus tha faclan eile stèidhichte air caog – leithid caogach ‘winking, squint-eyed’, caogadh ‘a winking, a conniving’, caog-shùil ‘an eye that winks, a squint eye’ agus caog-shùileach ‘squint-eyed, winking, blinking’. Caog-shùileach.

A-nise an litir ‘d’. A bheil sibh a’ tuigsinn seo – »å±ð²¹°ù²µ-²õ³óù¾±±ô? ʼS e facal fillte a th’ ann, air a dhèanamh de dearg agus ²õù¾±±ô. Tuigidh sibh gu bheil e a’ ciallachadh ‘red eye, bloodshot eye’.

Agus, fon litir ‘e’, tha mi air seo a thaghadh – eudach. E-U-D-A-C-H. Tha eudach a’ ciallachadh ‘jealous’ no ‘zealous’. Ach, ann am faclair Armstrong, tha e cuideachd a’ ciallachadh ‘clothes, dress, garment ...’ Tha e a’ cur nar cuimhne gun robh eudach na sheann riochd air an fhacal aodach.

Faclan na Litreach: aille: beauty, handsomeness; ailleag: pretty young maid; caog: wink, take aim by shutting the eye; caog-shùileach: squint-eyed, winking, blinking; dearg-shùil: red or bloodshot eye; eudach: jealous.

Abairtean na Litreach: fear-teagaisg agus faclairiche à Siorrachd Pheairt: a teacher and lexicographer from Perthshire; thug sinn ²õù¾±±ô air faclan fillte: we looked at compound words (nouns); leis gu bheil am faclair dà cheud bliadhna a dh’aois am-bliadhna: as the dictionary is two hundred years old this year; faclan a tha a’ tòiseachadh le gach litir dhen aibidil: words that start with each letter of the alphabet; chaidh a chlàradh mar sin ann am bàrdachd Ghàidhlig aig deireadh an ochdamh linn deug: it was recorded as that in Gaelic poetry at the end of the eighteenth century; tha X na ainmear agus na ghnìomhair: X is a noun and a verb; rud a bhios boghadair a’ dèanamh: something an archer does; bhon ainmear, tha sinn a’ faighinn a’ bhuadhair: from the noun we get the adjective; tha e a’ cur nar cuimhne gun robh eudach na sheann riochd air an fhacal aodach: it reminds us that ‘e³Ü»å²¹³¦³ó’ is an old form of the word ‘a´Ç»å²¹³¦³ó’.

Puing-chànain na Litreach: ochd ceud deug is còig air fhichead: this is an ‘older’ way of expressing 1825 compared to a common ‘modern’ mode – ochd ceud deug, fichead ʼs a còig. However, the ‘older’ mode is still common in the community. Here are some examples – seachd air fhichead bliadhna a dh’aois ‘27 years of age’; rugadh e ann an naoi ceud deug is trì air fhichead ‘he was born in 1923; tha iad còig bliadhn’ deug air fhichead a dh’aois ‘they are 35 years of age’.

Gnàthas-cainnt na Litreach: shaoil mi gum biodh e iomchaidh agus inntinneach ²õù¾±±ô às ùr a thoirt air: I thought it would be fitting and interesting to have a new look at it.