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IRISH LOCAL NAMES EXPLAINED

A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y

VOCABULARY OF IRISH ROOT WORDS A B C D E F G I L M N O P R S T U

VOCABULARY OF IRISH ROOT WORDS

Bad [baud], a boat.

Badhun [bawn], a cow fortress, the bawn of a castle.

Baile [bally], a town, a townland; bally, balli, vally, and in the eastern counties bal.

Ban [bawn], white or fair coloured; bane, baun, bawn, vane, vaun.

Barr [baur], the top, the highest point; bar, baur. The Bar of a townland (used in the north) is the high or hilly part.

Beag [beg], little.

Bealach [ballagh], a road or pass; ballagh, vally.

Bealltaine [beltany], the first day of May; celebrated as a festival by the pagan Irish.

Beann [ban, ben], a horn, a gable, a peak, or pointed hill.

Beannchar [banaher], horns, gables, peaks; banagher, bangor.

Beam, bearna, bearnas [barn, barna, barnas], a gap, a gap in a mountain; barna, barny, varna, varny, barnis, varnis, and often in the north barnet.

Bearnach [barnagh], gapped.

Beith [beh], the birch tree; beitheach [behagh] a birchy place; behy, beha, beagh, behagh, veha, vehy, etc.

Bel, beul [bale], the mouth, an entrance, a ford; often joined to ath in the compound bel-atha [bellaha, bella], a ford-mouth or ford entrance.

Bile [billa], a large ancient tree ; a tree held in veneration for any reason; billa, billy, villa, ville, villy, bella, vella.

Biorar [birrer], watercress; usually corrupted to biolar [biller]; viller, vilra, etc.

Bo, a cow; bo, boe, and by eclipse, moe (mbo); see page 2.

Boireann [burren], a large rock, a rocky district.

Both [boh], a tent or hut; bo, boh, boha, bohy, voe.

Bothar [boher], a road; boher and voher. In some of the eastern counties it is corrupted to batter. Bohereen, a little road.

Braghad [braud], the throat; a gorge: braid, broad, braud.

Bran; a raven.

Breach [breagh], a wolf; occurs in the compound breachmhagh [breaghvah], wolf-field.

Bri [bree], a hill; bree, bray.

Broc [bruck], a badger; brock, bride, and, by eclipse, mrock ; see p. 2.

Brocach [bruckagh], a badger warren; brockagh, brocky.

Brugh [bru], a palace, a distinguished residence; bru, bruff. BruigLean [breean] has the same meaning; but in modern times it is used to denote a fairy palace; breen, bryan, breena, vreena.

Buaile [boolia], a booley, a feeding or milking place for cows; booley, boley, boola, voola, voula, vooly.

Buidhe [bwee or boy], yellow; boy, wee, etc.

Buirghes [burris], a burgage or borough; borris and burns.

Bun, the end or bottom of anything; the mouth of a river.

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