158 DROMEDARY— FERRET 



In connection with this animal one informant supplied the 

 compiler with the term — as pronounced by him — Fee s^ore lutch I 



DROMEDARY. — Gabon (young); Droman, dromadair ; Each- 

 coimhliongadh (lit. a beast for the bridle, or racing-horse). 



ELEI»HANT.— Ailp, ailpe; Boir, boirr, borr ; Fil ; Yip (A. S.). 

 This foreign animal is said to live for fully two hundred years. 



ELK. — Ale, alee, arr ; Boirche ; Lon, lun ; Os ; Segh. 



The word is Scandinavian, and also signifies "moose." In 

 *' Fingal " we have " Lean-sa os-bhallach air Cromla," pursue thou 

 the spotted elk on Cromla. 



A saying is "Cho luath ris na loin, na luin or na luinn," as 

 swift as the elks (or the wavetops or wavelets), said to mean that 

 a speaker's heart is beating swiftly or violently. 



ERMINE (see also Weasel, Stoat). — Easag, easaic, easan, 

 easog ; Neas-gheal, neas-nam-fuar-thirean ; Radan Armenianach ; 

 Kate-spot, stoat : — 



"Early on 1st January of this year (1903), Mr Alexander Hay, 

 gardener, Colinton, caught a perfect specimen of the ermine on the 

 Pentland Hills. It must be a surprise to many to learn that the 

 regal ermine is still with us, and practically to be found at our 

 doors, or, to be exact, five miles from Princes Street. Near 

 Fernyflat Bridge two were occasionally seen, the one caught being 

 one of the two. The other, Mr Hay says, instead of the black tip 

 at end of tail, had a black head and an all-white tail. Messrs 

 Small, taxidermists, who cured and mounted it, inform us that the 

 ermine is occasionally seen in lonely parts of the Pentlands, but 

 seldom have they come across so fine an example as this is. It 

 was on view in the window of Messrs Gerrard Brothers, Princes 

 Street, Edinburgh." 



The above was so far contradicted by one "C. Campbell," 

 who stated that the animal caught was simply a fine specimen 

 of the stoat weasel in its winter dress. 



EWE (see Sheep). 



FERRET. — Baineasag, baineasg (female), baircin, baireacan ; 

 Coinneas ; Fearaid, feinecreasadh, feiread, feocullan, firead ; Neus- 

 abhag ; Siread. 



Cat (Suffolk) ; Forest, foryth, furette ; Gill-ferret ; Keamer. 



