SNAIL— TADPOLE 419 



Chunnaic mi an t-seilcheag air talamli toll. 



I saw the snail on poor soil — a bad augury. The snail most 

 frequently is seen on good soil. 



SNAKE (see also Serpent). — Aithid, arpag, asc ; Beithir, 

 buafan; Dearc-bhallaeh (speckled); lol-bheisd ; Nathair-gun- 

 phuinnsein. 



Hag-worm (North); Snaca (A. S.). 



SPIDER. — Bran-dubhan, breabair or breabaire-smogach ; 

 Cor, cuideag ; Dabhan, damhan, damhan or droman-alluidh or 

 eallaich ; dannsair-dubh-an-uisge (water), dubhan ; Lon-craois ; 

 Mial-monaidh (water) ; Tiopal. 



Aftercrop, aitercap, arain, aran, arand, aranee, arran, arrand, 

 arrant, arrian, arrin, attercap, attercob, attercop, attercrop ; 

 Capper, cop ; Eathercrop, eddercop, eddercrop, eddicrop, eddir- 

 crop, eddycrop, erayne, ethercap, ettercap, ettireap ; Hatter ; 

 Irain ; Meratoo, mooratoog, mooratow (moor) ; Nattercrop, nedi- 

 krop ; Ottercop ; Shepherd -spinner (long-legged) ; Wyver. 



Originally "spin-ther," the suffix being from the Aryan root 

 " tar," denoting the agent or one who spins. " Attercop " is said 

 to be from "atter," poison, and "cop" (Dutch) or cop, coppin 

 (Welsh), spider, "Bottled" spider is a term found in Shakespeare 

 for a large glossy kind. 



There are more than seven hundred species of spiders to be 

 found in Great Britain and Ireland. It is given here as an insect, 

 though strictly speaking, according to modern "scientists" at 

 anyrate, it is not one. In Irish lore (according to Stanhurst) the 

 name "attercop" appears in the tale of Fingal, while the word 

 "bran-dubhan" is frequently used for the spider's web. If a 

 spider be wilfully killed, a superstition exists that the person 

 doing so will break a piece of crockery or glass that day. An 

 old legend is extant, that a spider wove its web over the place 

 where the infant Jesus was laid, thus screening Him from His 

 would-be slayers. A spider put into a grey goose-quill, and tied 

 round a child's neck, is said to cure it of the thrush. A spider 

 indeed was used in various ways as cures for ailments or sicknesses, 

 even toothache. 



TADPOLE. — Ceann-phollag or phollan or simid ; Dairbeag, 

 doirbean, dorbene ; Fo-loscainn or losguinn ; Poll-cheannan. 



Black-head, bug, bullhead, bully ; Cannel, codnobble ; Erri- 

 wiggle ; Gell, gellie, gill ; Jewdi, judy-cow, july-bug, June ; Ketchy- 

 pole ; Laidlick ; Pode, podle, podlie, pohead, porriwiggle (North), 

 powart, poweed, powet, powhead, powie, powit, powlick, powrit, 

 pur-wiggy (Suffolk); Tadde (A. S.), todie, tom-toddy (Cornw.). 



