Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language (Classic Reprint)

If you are a reader who loves learning about language and the meaning and origin of words then <i>An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language</i> will delight your senses.This book was the first etymological dictionary of Gaelic and in the Preface Alexander Macbain writes that his dictionary is the purest distillation of Scottish Gaelic purged of all the Irish words which found their way into the lexicon. <br><br>The dictionary which contains 6900 words is a thorough summary of Scottish Gaelic. Over two-thirds of the words derive from native Gaelic or Celtic with around 20 percent of the words borrowed from other languages. The dictionary breaks down this information so that it is easy to understand for example sinteag means to skip or pace which is derived from Gaelic sun; the word was added to English as shindig. For an example of a non-Gaelic origin try brisg the Gaelic word meaning lively which is derived from the Scandinavian and in English would be brisk.<br><br>Macbain outlines Gaelic etymology by putting the language in the context of its group. The Celtic group was once comprised of Welsh Cornish Breton Irish Manx and Gaelic and these six languages are divided into Britannic and Gaelic subgroups. The primary reason for the division is the velar guttural symbolized by g. The book traces the difference in the meaning and pronunciation of words which begins with this language division. <br><br>Alexander Macbain was a teacher historian philologist and scholar of Celtic mythology. His writing style communicates a large volume of information in an easily digestible way. Macbain was a prolific writer and <i>An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language</i> is his most enduring book and language lovers will return to this volume often.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases an imperfection in the original such as a blemish or missing page may be replicated in our edition. We do however repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.