47 



evergreen shrubbery-tree. Priobaid (M4)onakl). (Latin : pri- 

 vatus ; Irish : priobhaid, secrecy, privacy). Its chief use is to 

 lorm hedges that are required for shelter, ornament, and privacy. 

 Fraxinus excelsior— Ash. Gael and Irish : craobh uinn- 

 seann. Irish: umseajin, niiJihscann, altered '\n\.o futnse, fuinseaft^ 

 fuiiiseog. 



** Gabhaidh an t' uinnseann as an ^llt 



'S a challtuinn as a phreas. " — Proverb. 



The ash will kindle out of the burn, 



And the hazel out of the bush. 



Welsh : onen^ corresponding to another Irish name, iiio7i. 

 Gaelic : nuin^ and also oinsean. The names refer principally 

 to the wood, and the primary idea seems to be lasting, long- 

 continuing, on (in Welsh), that which is in continuity. Uimh^ 

 number ; seann^ ancient, old ; iiine^ time, season. Nuin^ also 

 the letter N. Heb., mm. Fuinnseann (see Circoed)^ though from 

 the same root, may have been suggested by its frequent use in 

 the charms and enchantments so common in olden times, espe- 

 cially against the bites of serpents, and the influence of the 

 " Old Serpent." Pennant, in 1772, mentions: *' In many parts 

 of the Highlands, at the birth of a child, the nurse puts the end 

 of a green stick of ash into the fire, and while it is burning, 

 receives into a spoon the sap or juice which oozes out at the 

 other end, and administers this to the new-born babe." Serpents 

 were supposed to have a special horror of its leaves. 



" Theid an nathair troimh an teine dhearg 

 Mu'n teid i troimh dhuilleach an uinnsinn." 



The serpent will go through fire, rather than through the leaves of the ash. 



The same superstition was equally common in other countries, 

 and the name " ash," which is said to be from the Celtic word 

 cesc, a pike, is more likely to be from the word asc^ a snake, an 

 adder. ^ German : die esche. 

 The badge of Clan Menzies. 



Gentianace^. 

 Gentiana campestris — Field gentian. Gaelic : his a chrubain, 

 the crouching plant, or the plant good for the disease called 

 criibain, " which attacks cows, and is supposed to be produced 



1 In Scandinavian mythology the first man was called Ask, and the first 

 woman Ambla — ash and elm. The court of the gods is represented in the 

 Edda as held under an ash — Yggdrasil. Connected with these circumstances 

 probably arose the superstitions. — Chambers's Encvclop^dia. 



