Page:Alexander Macbain - An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language.djvu/101

beannag, a skirt, corner, coif, Ir. beannóg; from beann.

beantag, a corn-fan; see bannag.

bearach, dog-fish (M'A.); O. Ir. berach, verutus, from bior; cf. Eng. "picked or horned dogfish"; "bone-dog".

bearachd, judgement (Sh., O'R.); root bera, brâ, as in bràth, q.v.

bearbhain, vervain; from Eng. vervain, Lat. verbena.

bearn, a breach, cleft, Ir. bearna, E. Ir. berna; I. E. bher, cut, bore; Lat. forare, bore; Gr. φάρος, a plough, φαρω, split; Arm. beran, mouth; Ch. Sl. bar, clip; Eng. bore. Also bern, fen in E. Ir.

beàrr, shear, Ir. béarraim, O. Ir. berraim, O. W. byrr, short, Cor. ber, Br. berr, short, *berso-; Gr. φάρσος, any piece cut off; root bhera, as in bearn.

bearraideach, flighty, nimble; from beàrr?

beart, a deed, Ir. beárt, load, action, E. Ir. bert, bundle, birth; Gr. φόρτος, burden; root, bher, in beir, q.v. Also beairt, engine, loom. It is used in many compounds in the sense of "gear", as in cais-bheart, foot-gear, shoes; ceann-bheart, head-gear, helmet, etc.

beartach, rich; from beart; W. berth, rich, berthedd, riches.

beatha, life, so Ir. O. Ir. bethu, g. bethad, Celtic stem bitât-, divided into bi-tât; see bith (i.e. bi-tu-) for root. It is usual for philologists to represent the stem of beatha as bivotât, that is bi-vo-tât-, the bi-vo- part being the same as the stem bivo of beò. While the root bi is common to both beatha and beò, the former does not contain -vo-; it is the O. Ir. nom. beothu (*bi-tûs) that has set philologists wrong. Hence G. and Ir. beathach, animal. Ir. beathadhach, dial. of beathach.

beic, a curtesy; from Sc. beck, curtesy, a dialectic use of Eng. beck, beckon. Hence beiceis, bobbing, etc. (M'A.).

beil, grind; a very common form of meil, q.v.

beil, is; see bheil.

beilbheag, corn-poppy; see mealbhag. Also bailbheag.

béileach, a muzzle, Ir. beulmhach, a bridle, bit, -mhach for bach termination from bongim, beat; from beul.

béilleach, blubber-lipped, béileach (H.S.D.); from beul. The first form suggests a stem bél-nac-. Cf. béilean, a prating mouth. Also méilleach.

beilleag, outer coating of birch, rind; also méilleag, q.v.

beince, being (H.S.D.), a bench; from Sc. bink; Eng. bench. Cf. Ir. beinse, W. mainc, Br. menk.

beinn, hill, ben; oblique form of beann (f.n.), used as a fem.nom., for beann sounds masculine beside ceann, etc. See beann.

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