OF THE GAELIC LANGUAGE.
15
Lat. imber; Gr. ὄμβος, rain; Skr. ambu, water. Zimmer considers the Ir. borrowed from Ag. S. ámber, amphora, Ger. eimer; but the Gaelic meaning is distinctly against his theory. A borrowing from Lat. amphora is liable to the same objection.
amarlaich, blustering (M'A.):
amarlaid, blustering female; not amarlaich.
amart, need (Hend.). Hend. now questions it, aimbeairt.
amhailte, large ember of wood (Glen-moriston).
amas, hitting, O. Ir. ammus, an aim: *ad-mes-; see eirmis.
amasguidh, aimsgith, profane, impure: *ad-mesc-id-, "mixed"; see measg.
amh, raw, Ir. amh, E. Ir. om, W. of; root om, ōm, whence Gr. ὠμóς; Got. amsa; Skr. amsas.
amhach, neck: *om-âk-â; Lat. humerus, shoulder (*om-es-os); Gr. ὦμος; Got. amsa; Skr. amsas.
amhain, entanglement by the neck (M'A.); from above.
a mhàin, only, Ir. amháin, E. Ir. amáin; cf. O. Ir. nammá (W. namyn, but?)=nan-n-má "ut non sit major"(?). The main root is má or mó, more, with the negative, but the exact explanation is not easy; "no more than"(?). amháin=a-(a[p]o)+màin, *mani; Gr. μάνος, spärlich, μονος (St. Z.).
amhainn, river; better abhainn, q.v.
amhaltach, vexing; see aimheil.
amhan, a marsh, or lòn (Glen-moriston).
amharc, looking, seeing; so Ir., M. Ir. amarc, amharc=a-(apo)+marc, Ger. merken, perhaps Lith. mérkti, wink, blink (St.). Roots marc, marg.
amhartan, luck, Ir. amhantur, abhantur, from Fr. aventure, Eng. adventure.
amharus, suspicion, so Ir., O. Ir. amairess, infidelitas, am+iress, the latter meaning "faith"; O. Ir. iress=air-ess, and *ess is from *sistâ, standing, root stâ, stand, reduplicated; cf. Lat. sisto, etc. The whole word, were it formed at once, would look like *am-(p)are-sistâ, or *am-are-sistâ.
amhas, amhusg, wild man, beast man; Ir. amhas, a wild man, madman; E. Ir. amos, amsach, a mercenary soldier, servant. Conchobar's amsaig, or mercenaries, in the E. Ir. saga of Deirdre, appear misunderstood as our amhusgan, monsters; there is probably a reminiscence of the Norse "bear-sarks". Borrowed from Gaul. Lat. ambactus (=servus, Festus), through *ambaxus; Cæsar says of the Gaulish princes: "Circum se ambactos clientesque habent". The roots are ambi- (see mu) and ag, go, lead (see aghaidh). Hence many words, as Eng.
