56 



the Royal Irish Academy, in the Book of the O'Kellys of Hy- 

 Maine, lodged, I believe, in the Office of Arms, Dublin, and in 

 other ancient vellum collections w^hich we have seen. The princi- 

 pal and most copious of these is — 



S<tti<tfeti Cbotini<i)c— COR MAC'S GLOSSARY. 



This work is said to have been written by Cormac Mac Cuile- 

 nan, Bishop and King of Cashell, in the 9th century. It is useful 

 in explaining old and obsolete words. He shews their Etymology, 

 and derives many from Latin, Greek and Hebrew, giving, at the 

 same time, examples to elucidate their meanings. Many of these 

 examples are taken from writers, whose works have long since pe- 

 rished. With respect to Etymology and the interpretation of the 

 antiquated words which it contains, as mentioned before, it is 

 found useful ; but is defective in not comprizing the entire words of 

 the language. The propriety of Cormac's deriving many of these 

 words from foreign tongues may be doubted. Perhaps they might 

 with more propriety be referred to their legitimate parent, the 

 Celtic ; which, according to many learned writers, was in common 

 with the Hebrew and the other Oriental languages a dialect of the 

 original tongue, and from which the Greeks and Latins borrowed 

 those words which bear an affinity in orthography and sense to 

 those in the Irish. Much of Cormac's interpretation is now as ob- 

 scure as the words which he explains. The latter are given accord- 

 ing to the letters of the Alphabet, but are not in Dictionary order. 

 This old work is highly deserving of publication. — The next Glos- 

 sary which I shall notice is the 



