PHYTOLOGY. 



THE GAELIC NAMES OF PLANTS. 

 By JOHN CAMERON. 



{Cotitiiiiied from p. 234.) 



RoSACEiE. 



(From the Celtic. Gaelic, rds ; Welsh, rhos ; Armoric, 7'oscn ; 

 Greek, poSov; Latin, rosa.) 



Prunus spinosa — Blackthorn, sloe. Gaelic : ptras nan air- 

 jieag, the sloe bush. Irish : airne, a sloe. 



" Siiilean air lidh airneag.'''' — Ross. 

 Eyes the colour of sloes. 



Sgitheach dubh, — the word sgith ordinarily means weary, but it 

 means also (in Irish) fear; dubk, black, the fearful black one, but 

 probably in this case it is a form of sgeach^ a haw (the fruit of the 

 white thorn), the black haw. Welsh : eirinen ddu, the black 

 plum ; ehyn, a plum. 



** Crun sgitheach an aite crun rlgh. — M'Ellar. 

 A crown of thorns instead of a royal crown. 



Droighionii dicbh, the black penetrator (from druid, to penetrate, 

 pierce, bore). Compare Gothic,///;-////^; Sanscrit,//-///; Latin, 

 trit ; Welsh, V//'^<f;/; German, doni ; English, tJioni. 



**Croin droignich 'on ear's o'niar." — Old Poem. 

 Thorn-trees on either side. 



P. damascena — Damson. Gaelic and Irish : daimsin (corrup- 

 tion). 



P. insititia — Bullace. Gaelic and Irish : bulastair. Com- 

 pare Breton, bolos ; Welsh, biohis, sloes. » 



P. domestica — Wild plum. Gaelic : plumbais Jiad/iainn, wild 

 plum ; plumbais seargta^ prunes. Latin : priinum. 



P. armeniaca — Apricot. Gaelic : apricoc. Welsh : bricyllcn. 

 Regnier supposes from the Arabic berkoch, whence the Italian 

 albicocco, and the English apricot; or, as Professor Martyn 

 observes, a tree when first introduced might have been called 



^ Sgt'ach, also a bush. 



