G THE CAPERCAILLIE. 



To he<^'u\ at lliL" beginning. — Some people assert tliat to 

 spell it with ji z is the best Scotch, but I am of opinion that, 

 tliere bting no // nor z in Gaelic, and the word being distinctly 

 of (Jaelic origin, it is best to adliere in form as closely as 

 possible to that origin. But granting, in the meantime, the 

 admission of y or z, then I think if the z be used it ought to 

 be silent, as in many other Highland, or, I should say Scotch, 

 names taken originally from the Gaelic, such as Menzies, 

 Monzie, Colqulialzie (pronounced Co-why-lie), Eohalzion, 

 Dalrulzion, Dalziell (also still spelt Dalyell), and others, 

 mostly proper names.^ Because, in old printing, a z was con- 

 stantly used instead of a y, in proof of which, in the old Scots 

 Acts of Parliament (see James VI., 1C21, Act xxx.), the word 

 " years'' is spelt "zeiris" In the self-same Act occur the words 

 " cajjerkailzeis" and " quailzies." Tliis originated doubtless in 

 a printer's eiTor in reading the MS., or if not an eri'or, then 

 because y and z in old type were generally used as the same 



writers, with other slight variations— r. Sibbald, 'Scot. Illu^.,' p. 16. Forster, 

 {(^. ciL) Blaine, {op. cit.) MacGillivray, Capercailzie. {Ji) Burt 'Letters 

 from, N. of Scotland,' 1754, vol. ii. p. 173, uses Cobbcr-kcly, pointing to a 

 derivation from Cabar — as will bo seen further on, or resulting from com- 

 plications of local Gaelic dialects, (i) Capcrcalcg is used by Sir Robert 

 Gordon in his ' History of the Earldom of Sutherland,' (1630, published in 

 1813). {k) Sibbald, • Scot. IlluM.,' {Tahlrs 14, 18), Latinizes the word thus— 

 Cajrricalca, following no doubt an earlier author, Robert Edward, {'A Descrip- 

 tion if Augu.s,'' translated from the original Latin of P'dward, minister of 

 Murroes : Dundee, j)rinted by T. Colvill, 1793), the word in the original 

 being Capricalcis (ablative plural). For further notice of works quoted, see 

 further on, p. 13. A very full list of the names it has received, and of the 

 HlHjIlings uaed, will |je found in the 'Penny Cyclopccdia,' in a very good 

 article on the species, vol. vi., p. 260. Another \9.riQ.i\on—Capercayllie~\s 

 found in a ' Treatise on Vic Game Laws of Scotland,' by A. Gregor, 1837, 

 p. 9. 



' There are other words which possess the z unpronouuced, .such as the 

 Irtw-temis assoilzie, spuilzie, tailzie, and others. Jamieson's Dictionary, 

 however, does not give the z in tailzie— hut ' taile, tailye, an entail ; tailyie, 

 a piece of meat* The fact of Jamieson omitting the z and substituting y, 

 I»oints to his kiu»wledgc that tlie z became inserttnl owing to the scarcity of 

 tho letter y in former and older founts of type. For the derivation of Monzie, 

 »ee ' Old Stat. Acet.qf Scotland,' vol. xv. 0795), p. 241. 



