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A bheil facal Gàidhlig agaibh airson ‘pine cone’? Chanainn gur e am fear as cumanta a th’ ann – durcan. Durcan-giuthais – a pine cone. Durcan-spruise – a spruce cone. Tha durc a’ ciallachadh ‘lump, chunky piece of something’.

Ach tha facal a bharrachd anns na faclairean airson ‘pine cone’, agus chuala mi e ann an cainnt cuideachd. ’S e sin cneatag. Tha e air a litreachadh ann an diofar dhòighean – mar cneutag, ³¦²Ôè²¹³Ù²¹²µ (le cn aig an toiseach) agus cuideachd creutag le cr aig an toiseach.

Tha cneatag cuideachd a’ ciallachadh ‘a wooden football, a cricket ball or a shinty ball’. Tha e a’ nochdadh cuideachd mar cneuta. Ann an Gàidhlig Siorrachd Pheairt, bhiodh daoine ag ràdh cluich chnèad airson ‘playing ball’. Agus anns an fhaclair leis a’ Pheairteach, Raibeart Armstrong – a tha dà cheud bliadhn’ a dh’aois – tha seo: A’ cluich air a’ chreudaig: ‘playing at cricket, playing at shinty’.

Cò às a thàinig am facal cneat? Chan eil mi cinnteach. Cha do lorg mi e anns na faclairean Èireannach no Manainneach. Saoil an tàinig e bhon Bheurla? Bha spòrs ann an Sasainn air an robh creag mar ainm anns a’ cheathramh linn deug. Tha dùil aig cuid gun tàinig ‘cricket’ on fhacal sin. Tha criogaid, mar a chanas sinn an-diugh ann an Gàidhlig, gu math sean mar spòrs. Agus bhiodh durcain, no cneatagan, feumail mar ‘bhuill’ airson gheamannan mar sin.

Thug sin orm beachdachadh air faclan Gàidhlig eile co-cheangailte ri criogaid. Dè chanas sinn ris a’ bhata leis am bithear a’ bualadh a’ bhuill? Seo far am bi sinn a’ dèanamh sgaradh eadar criogaid agus iomain, no camanachd. Ann an iomain, bidh sinn a’ bualadh a’ bhuill le caman. Feumaidh ‘caman’ a bhith cam. 

Ach ann an criogaid, chan eil am bata cam. Tha e dìreach. Agus canaidh sinn slacan ris. Slacan. He is batting – tha e a’ slacadh no tha e a’ batadh. Tha slaic ann cuideachd. Thug i slaic mhòr don bhall ‘she gave the ball a good whack’.Ìý

Ann am Beurla, tha facal car annasach co-cheangailte ri criogaid. ’S e sin am facal wicket. Bho thùs bha sin a’ ciallachadh ‘geata beag’, leithid ann an caisteal, ri taobh, no mar phàirt de, gheata mòr. Bha am wicket mòr gu leòr airson dìreach aon duine. Ann an Gàidhlig, canaidh sinn caol-doras no fath-dhoras ris. Bha wicket cuideachd a’ ciallachadh uinneag anns nach robh glainne. An àite glainne, bhiodh slatan ann. Slatan fiodha.

Ann an criogaid, tha wicket a’ ciallachadh nan trì stoban a tha slacair a’ dìon. Agus dè a’ Ghàidhlig a th’ air wicket ann an criogaid? Tha na faclairean a’ toirt seo dhuinn – geata, oir ’s e sin a bha wicket a’ ciallachadh o thùs. Leagail geata ‘the fall of a wicket’. Glèidheadair-geata ‘wicket keeper’. Agus, ann an Gàidhlig na h-Èireann, tha iomáin gheata (no iomain-geata mar a chanamaid ann an Alba) a’ ciallachadh ‘cricket’.

Nise, tha ciall eile air wicket ann an criogaid – ’s e sin an raon caol eadar an dà gheata. Canaidh mise ‘an rèidhlean’ ris – ach math dh’fhaodte gu bheil facal nas fheàrr agaibh fhèin ...

Faclan na Litreach: Siorrachd Pheairt: Perthshire; Manainneach: Manx; criogaid: cricket; dìreach: straight; slacan: bat (cricket); slatan fiodha: wooden rods.

Abairtean na Litreach: air a litreachadh ann an diofar dhòighean: spelt in different ways; anns an fhaclair leis a’ Pheairteach: in the dictionary by the Perthshire man; dà cheud bliadhn’ a dh’aois: two hundred years old; gu math sean mar spòrs: very old as a sport; feumail mar ‘bhuill’ airson gheamannan mar sin: useful as ‘balls’ for games like that; thug sin orm beachdachadh air faclan Gàidhlig eile co-cheangailte ri criogaid: that made me think about other Gaelic words connected to cricket; dè chanas sinn ris a’ bhata leis am bithear a’ bualadh a’ bhuill?: what do we call the stick with which the ball is struck; feumaidh ‘caman’ a bhith cam: a ‘caman’ must be bent; bho thùs bha sin a’ ciallachadh ‘geata beag’: originally that was meaning ‘small gate’; leithid ann an caisteal, ri taobh, no mar phàirt de, gheata mòr: such as in a castle, beside, or as part of, a large gate; uinneag anns nach robh glainne: a window in which there was no glass; a’ ciallachadh nan trì stoban a tha slacair a’ dìon: is meaning the three stumps that a batter is protecting; an raon caol eadar an dà gheata: the narrow area between the two wickets; canaidh mise ‘an rèidhlean’ ris – ach math dh’fhaodte gu bheil facal nas fheàrr agaibh fhèin: I’ll call it ‘the rèidhlean’ – but perhaps you have a better word.

Puing-chànain na Litreach: mar a chanamaid ann an Alba: as we would say in Scotland. Chanamaid is the first personal plural form of the verb can ‘say’ in the conditional mood. It means ‘we would say’. As with the first person singular form chanainn ‘I would say’, the personal pronoun is built into the verbal form. This compares with mar a chanadh sibh ‘as you would say’ where the personal pronoun sibh appears. However, note that in some parts of the country chanamaid is replaced by chanadh sinn, with the first person plural pronoun appearing.

Gnàthas-cainnt na Litreach: tha facal a bharrachd anns na faclairean: there is an additional word in the dictionaries.