Blair Collection > Elements of Gaelic grammar

Chap. I.] AND COMPOSITION. 181
Maochruidh' a band of heroes, Psal. xxix. 1. Macfarlan's
Paraph, vi. 15. from 'ceol' tmisic, 'ceolraidh' the muses. A.
Macdonald's Songs, p. 1. from xos' th&foot, ,coisridh' in-
fantry, a party on foot. M'Intyre's Songs, Edin. 176S.
p. 110. from 'gas' a lad, 'gasradh' a band of domestic at-
tendants. O'Brien's Ir. Diet. voc. <gas ; eachradh, each-
rulth' cavalry. Fingal. IV. 209. Carthon, 59. — This ter-
mination is probably the Noun 'ruith' a troop. See Lhujd
et O'Brien, in voc. (u)
8. Nouns in ach^ chiefly Patronymics, formed from Pro-
per Names, thus; from 'Donull' Donald, is formed 'Donull-
ach' a man of the name of Macdonald ; from 'Griogar' Gre-
gor, 'Griogarach' a Macgregor ; so 'Leodach' a Macleod,
'Granntach' a Grant, &c. from *Albainn' Scotland, Albann-
ach' a Scotsman ; from 'Eirin' Ireland., 'Eirineach' an Irish^
man. These Nouns form their Plural regularly, 'Donull-
aich, Leodalch, Albannaich, Eirinich.' So the following
Gentile Nouns, which occur in the Gaelic Scriptures, are
regularly formed from their respective Primitives, 'Partuich'
Fartliians, 'Medich' Af^'^^j, 'Elamuich' J^/a/raVe j. Acts, ii. 9,
*Macedonaich' Macedonicms, 2 Cor. ix. 2, 4. See also Gen.
XV. 19, 20, 21. Exod. xxiii. 23, 2S. (x)
9. Collective
a bingular Noun of the fem. gender; not, as might be thought,
the Plural of 'mac' So 'laochruidh, madraidh,' &c. may rather
be considered as collective nouns of the singular Number than
as Plurals.
(//) The same termination, having the same import, is found
in the French words ' cavalerie, infanterie,' and in the English
* cavalry, infantry, yeomanry.'
(x) In the Gaelic N. Test, the Gentile Nouns Ko^i^eto'-,, TdXu'
T«ij E(pe(r<e<„ are rendered ' Corintianalch, Galatianaich, Ephesian-
* aich.' Would it not be agreeable to the analogy of Gaelic
derivation to write ' Corintich, Galataich, Ephesich,' subjoining
the Gaelic termination alone to tbe Primitive, rather than by
introducing the syllable an, to form a Derivative of a mixed and
redundant structure, partly vernacular, partly foreign P The
word ' Samaritanaich,' John, iv. 40. is remarkably redundant,
having