CHAPTER I. 



DERIVATION. 



There can scarcely be any doubt that the word Capercaillie 

 or Capercailzie, with all the many variations in spelling,^ 

 comes direct from the Gaelic. The opinions of authorities, 

 nevertheless, seem to differ in no small degree as to the 

 correct Gaelic origin of the word, and much confusion exists 

 as to the true meaning,^ 



This paper would perhaps scarcely be considered complete 

 under its title if some notice of these different opinions were 

 not taken, but the present writer having no knowledge what- 

 ever of the Gaelic language, must be satisfied with simply 

 stating these views, without committing himself to any one 

 of them. 



The Eev. Dr. T. Maclauchlan, in a letter to Eev. G. 

 MacArthur, 25th March 1876, holds the following views, 



^ See further on, p. 2. 



2 The old Scandinavian name of the Capercaillie, as I am informed by Dr. 

 Meves of Stockholm— ^c^c Dr. T. W. Lindblad, editor of the ' Swedish Hunting 

 Journal' (Nija Yagore Forbimdets Tidskrift ; Stockholm) — "is thiddur (in 

 English spelling, chaiditr), often with the appendix tu2)p, denoting the cock, 

 the he-bird. That, again, has a great many provincial and local variations, such 

 as tjddar, tedur, tjdhtr, tjuder, tjdddicr, in Dalecarlia — tidder, sometimes in 

 Upland — and so on. In Vermland sometimes tjiir-lian, denoting the rich 

 plumage or feather-garb of the cock. The Norwegian name is tiur. This 

 word is supposed to be an onomatopoetic word, imitating as far as possible the 

 peculiar 'playing' sound of the Capercaillie" {in lit.) 



B 



