v1.0
Published 01/10/24
bòl . Cox (2002a, 186) records SG Bòl Phluic [ ̩b̥ɔˑɫ̪ ˈfɫ̪uiʰkʲ] and Bòl Ruairidh [ ̩b̥ɔˑɫ̪ ˈɾuəɾʲi], Lewis place-names containing a family nickname and masculine personal name, respectively, in the genitive as specific, and derives bòl ‘animal couch’ from ON ból nt. in the sense ‘animal resting place, lair’ (NO);
Also Cox 1991, 493; 1992, 138; 1994, 46, 57.
Mackenzie (1910, 384), followed by MacBain (1911), derives SG buaill ‘place for resting and milking’ from the same source;
Although both Mackenzie and MacBain cite ON bol (sic).
while McDonald (2009, 344) considers bòl, buaill and buaile to be likely loans from ON ból.
But citing the sense ‘farmyard, yard’.
Along with their variant forms, (A) buaile etc., (B) bual etc. and (C) bòl, buaill are derived below from Lat. bŏvĕll(ĭ)um ‘stall for oxen’.
A. buaile and its forms
A 1. buaile [ˈb̥uələ], buala [ˈb̥uəɫ̪ə]
(i) buaile f. is found primarily in the senses ‘fold, for cattle (HSS 1828), sheep or cattle (Armstrong 1825), or stock in general (MacLennan 1925; Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄; AFB˄ /buələ/); field, open or enclosed; field for cultivation; reclaimed land between crofts and moor (Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄: Lewis); stall (ibid.: Coll and Gairloch), cow-stall (Robertson 1906b, 85); dairy (Armstrong); cattle herd (ibid.; Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄: buaile, buai, Tiree, buaile mhart, Barra)’. The word is also used in the sense ‘circle’ in general, e.g. of animal pounds, meteorological phenomena, privileged groups in church, toys and in games (Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄).
(ii) buala (Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄, with a note ‘slipped under buaile’: [bu̜ɤɫə] ‘cow-stall’, Raasay) and bualla (MacLennan: ‘cow-stall’; Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄, s.v. buabhall: ‘horse-stall’, Lewis) appear to be variant forms of buaile, with a non-palatal lateral.
A 2. buailidh [ˈb̥uəli], bualaidh [ˈb̥uəɫ̪i]
(i) buailidh is the normalised dative form of buaile (as a dental stem) and is found in the sense ‘dairy-house (Shaw 1780); dairy-stall, fold (Armstrong); cow-stall (Robertson); stall (Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄: [bu̜ɤli], Sutherland, boolie [sic], Assynt; Wentworth 2003: f. (rarely) [b̥[uə]l’i], Gairloch)’.
(ii) bualaidh, with a non-palatal lateral, occurs also: ‘cow-stall (HSS; Robertson; MacLennan; Wentworth: f. [b̥[uə]Li], Gairloch; Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄: [bu̜ɤɫi], Lochalsh), stall in a byre (ibid. [idem], Coigach)’.
A 3. A number of derivatives are found: buaileag with the diminutive suffix -ag (MacLennan; Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄); buaileach ‘ox-stall’ with the suffix -ach (Shaw; HSS: f.), as well as buailteach with intrusive t: ‘ox-stall (Armstrong: m.);
Although HSS takes buailteach to be a compound of buaile + teach ‘house’ (EG tech), cf. SG bàthach f. ‘byre’ < EG *bóthech (cf. eDIL˄, s.v. bó: botheach).
dairy-houses, summer booths or huts (HSS, citing Lhuyd 1707: pl. buailteacha; MacLennan)’; buailteachan m. ‘temporary camp’ with the suffixes -ach + -an (Shaw; Armstrong; HSS); and bualachd (Armstrong; MacLennan) and buallachd (Shaw; HSS) f. ‘drove of cows’, which may owe their forms in part to the verbal noun bualadh m. in the senses ‘striking; proceeding’.
SG buaile f. (A 1–3; Ir. idem, Mx bwoailley (Broderick 2010, 8)) is from EG búaile ‘cow-house, byre; cattle-pen; (temporary) cattle-fold, booley at times of summer pasturage; yard, enclosure, paddock’
Kelly (2000, 43) translates ‘cattle enclosure’.
(eDIL˄, s.v. 1búaile),
Cf. MacBain; and MacLennan.
senses that eDIL˄ (s.v. 2búaile) suggests may be an extension of búaile in the sense ‘boss or more probably ring, or sometimes rim or edge, of a shield’, derived by Marstrander (1915a, 65) from ON bóla f. ‘shield boss’, while elsewhere the reverse development is proposed, with the sense ‘boss’ taken as an extension of ‘cow-house etc.’, derived from MLat. bouile or perhaps bualium (Vendryes 1996, s.v. 1, 2búaile). For bualium, cf. bŭālĭum ‘stall for oxen’, cited by Nettleship (1889, s.v.), but for which we should perhaps read būălĭum, if from *būvălĭum nt., if based on būbălus m. ‘wild ox’. For bouile, cf. Lat. bŏvĕllĭum nt. ‘stall for oxen’ (= bŏvĭllĭum < bŏvĭllus m. adj. ‘of oxen’ + the suffix -ium in the sense ‘place of or group of’), which might well yield EG */boβəl´ə/ and, with vocalisation of the fricative, */boul´ə/ > búaile /buəl´ə/ (Thurneysen 1975, 40).
B. bual and its forms
B 1. bual [ˈb̥uəɫ̪], buail [ˈb̥uəl´]
(i) bual, as in bual-cruidh ‘?herd’ (MacGregor 1874, 274). MacGregor was born near Ballater, but of Perthshire parents (Kidd 2016, 34).
(ii) buail (Kirk 1702 (in Campbell 1938, 80): ‘fold for great cattle’[, Aberfoyle]; Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄: [bu:ɑlʹ] ‘stall’, [buɑlʹ] ‘stall for one cow’, Mull, [bu̟əl] ‘cow-stall’, Islay).
B 2. bobhal, boghal [ˈb̥o-əɫ̪]
(i) bobhal ‘?stall’ (MacFhearghuis 1983, 24: bobhal na bà, Lewis).
(ii) boghal ‘stall’ (Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄: ‘the cow’s bed or stall in the byre’, Lewis).
B 3. badhail, baghail [ˈb̥a-əl´]
(i) badhail occurs in Nicolson 1881, probably in the sense ‘stall’, although MacIntosh earlier writes
(ii) baghail (Lochaber or East Perthshire).
Nicolson (≈1881, 8) reads, ‘Aithneachadh bó badhail, no fàilt a’ chruidh “The wandering cow’s welcome, or the kine’s salute”. Nicolson notes that his source (MacIntosh 1785, 2) explains this to mean that when a strange beast joins a herd the rest attack it. Nicolson continues, ‘[a]n ingenious commentator suggests as the proper reading Aithnichidh bò a badhail “A cow knows her own stall”, which makes good sense. But the noun badhail is Irish [in fact, the word does not seem to appear in either Lhuyd 1707 or O’Brien 1832 (1768), while O’Reilly 1864 (1817) gives only bàidheal ‘cow-stall’ after Shaw]; buabhail is our word for “stall”.’ MacIntosh collected his material in Lochaber and in his own East Perthshire and his own text reads Ai’nichidh ba baghail, no, fàilt a chruidh ‘the cattle’s salute, or, the strange cow’s welcome’, to which is added the footnote that ‘[w]hen a strange beast comes to the herd, every one attacks him’. (MacIntosh’s second edition (1819, 5) reads, Aithnichidh bò baghail, no, failt a chruidh ‘the strange cow’s welcome, or the kine’s salute’, with a footnote that ‘[o]n a cow’s first joining a herd, she is treated rather roughly; hence, in derision, her reception is termed a salute, or welcome’.) If baghail means ‘wandering’, the sentence does not make syntactical sense; hence Nicolson’s alteration from the indicative aithnichidh to the imperative aithnicheadh, so Dwelly (1911, s.v. badhal). However, MacPherson (≈1945, 356) gives the North Uist version of the proverb as Aithnichidh gach bò a buaball fèin ‘Each cow will know its own stall, i.e. everyone knows their own place’. MacIntosh’s original version, therefore, should probably be read as Aithnichidh bò a baghail, no fàilte a’ chruidh ‘A cow knows its stall, or [if not, it’ll get] the kine’s welcome, i.e. if you don’t know your place, others are sure to remind you’.
B 4. bàidheal [ˈb̥aːjəɫ̪]
(i) bàidheal (Robertson: ‘stall’, Arran), with a long monophthong, and
(ii) baidheal (Shaw), which may indicate the same, as Shaw does not show lengthmarks.
B 5. buaidheal, buaigheal [ˈb̥uəjəɫ̪]
(i) buaidheal (MacLeod 1840, 10: ‘cow-stall (Kidd 2016, 398)’; Robertson: ‘stall’).
(ii) buaigheal (McAlpine: f. [bŭăė’´-ghyall] ‘cow-stall’, Islay; HSS: m. ‘idem’; MacLennan: f. ‘idem’; Dieckhoff: s.v. buabhal; Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄: ‘stall’, Arran; AFB˄: f. /buəjəL/ ‘idem’, Barra and Arran) and buaigheall (HSS: m. ‘cow-stall’; Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄: ‘cattle stall(s)’, Barra).
B 6. buathall [ˈb̥uəhəɫ̪]
Medial th in the form buathall m. ‘cow-stall’ (Dwelly App.) may represent [h], as does Dieckhoff’s (1932: m., Glengarry) bh in buabhal [buɐhal] ‘cow-stall’), possibly hiatus.
Watson (1999, 350–51) discusses this variation.
B 7. buabhall [ˈb̥uəvəɫ̪]
Buabhall (HSS: m. ‘idem’; Robertson: ‘stall’; MacLennan: f. ‘cow-stall’; Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄: ‘cow’s bed, stall’, Skye, [bu̜ɑu̜ɫ] ‘cow-stall’, Strontian); cf. bó a’ bhuabhaill-thulchainn ‘the cow of the end stall’
(Lochaber) Am mart a bhios sa bhuabhall-thulchainn, is toigh leatha e ‘the cow in the end stall likes it’.
and laogh buabhall an dorais ‘the calf of the stall by the door’
[... is likely to be attended to first.]
(≈Nicolson 1881, 68, 299). McAlpine gives buabhaill f. ‘cow-stall’ but with a pronunciation ([bŭăv’´-all]) that indicates buabhall.
B 8. buaball [ˈb̥uəb̥əɫ̪]
Buaball (Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄: [bu̜əbəɫ] ‘cow-stall’, North Uist) and buabull (ibid.: South Uist ‘idem’). These forms have a medial stop. The difference between second-syllable <a> on the one hand and <u> on the other is insignificant, although unstressed [ə] is generally represented nowadays by <a> in modern Scottish Gaelic orthography.
B 9. buadhall, buaghal [ˈb̥uə-əɫ̪]
(i) buadhall (Robertson: ‘properly a stall for cattle, ... but used also for a horse-stall in Ardnamurchan, Mull, and Perth’).
(ii) buaghal (Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄: ‘stall’, Skye; AFB˄: m. /buə.əL/ [although the pronunciation provided gives [ˈb̥uəvɑɫ̪]] ‘idem’, Lewis, Uist, Skye and Raasay).
Rather than bŏvĕllĭum ‘stall for oxen’ here, the related bŏvĕllum nt. ‘idem’ (for bŏvĭllum, a nominal use of bŏvĭllum nt. adj. ‘of oxen’) would yield EG */boβəl/ regularly. The medial fricative of */boβəl/ develops into [j] in bàidheal [ˈb̥aːjəɫ̪] (B 4) and buaidheal, buaigheal [ˈb̥uəjəɫ̪] (B 5); [h] in buathall [ˈb̥uəhəɫ̪] (B 6); [v] in buabhall [ˈb̥uəvəɫ̪] (B 7), which undergoes fortition in buaball [ˈb̥uəb̥əɫ̪] (B 8);
Cf. the isolated example of /v/ > /b/ in SG sgrìobhadh [skr´iːb̥u] ‘writing’ in East Sutherland (SGDS Item 764, Point 144).
and finally hiatus in bobhal, boghal [ˈb̥o-əɫ̪] (B 2), badhail, baghail [ˈb̥a-əl´] (B 3) and buadhall, buaghal [ˈb̥uə-əɫ̪] (B 9), but which is lost in some areas (e.g. Mull, Perthshire), yielding a diphthong, as in SG bual [ˈb̥uəɫ̪] (B 1). Meanwhile, original stressed /o/ is retained in bobhal, boghal [ˈb̥o-əɫ̪] (B 2), but develops into /ɑ(ː)/ by analogy with SG bàthaich in badhail, baghail [ˈb̥a-əl´] (B 3) and bàidheal [ˈb̥aːjəɫ̪] (B 4), and into /uə/ or /uɑ/ by analogy with SG buabhall ‘wild ox etc.’ (< EG búaḃall < Lat. būbălus) in buabhall [ˈb̥uəvəɫ̪] (B 7), buaball [ˈb̥uəb̥əɫ̪] (B 8), buadhall, buaghal [ˈb̥uə-əɫ̪] (B 9) and buaidheal, buaigheal [ˈb̥uəjəɫ̪] (B 5). Original unstressed /ə/ is retained for the most part, except where adapted to other Scottish Gaelic endings in /ɑl´/ or /ɑʟ/, as for example under B 6 and B 9.
On the question of /ɑ/ before -l in unstressed syllables, see Ó Maolalaigh 2008, 163–67, 224–25.
The final lateral EG /l/ [ɫ] is retained in Glengarry (B 6), but mainly develops into /ʟ/ [ɫ̪] after local loss of /l/; reflexes in [l´] under B1 and B3 may be normalised dative forms or have been influenced by buaile itself. Most of these developments are paralleled in the modern dialectal reflexes of, for example, fuaghail, fuaigheil ‘to sew’ (cf. EG fúaiġiḋ vb), ruamhair ‘to dig’ (cf. EG rúaṁar m.), sabhal ‘barn’ (EG saḃall) and SG saoghal ‘world’ (EG sáeġul) (SGDS Items 442, 719, 726 and 738).
C. buaill [?], bòl [ˈb̥ɔˑɫ̪]
(i) buaill ‘place for resting and milking’ (Mackenzie 1910, 384: Lewis; so MacBain 1911).
(ii) bòl (Cox ibid.: ‘animal couch’, recorded as generic in Lewis place-names, see above).
Mackenzie’s buaill may be an oblique case form of bual(l) [b̥uəɫ̪], for [ˈb̥o-əɫ̪] or [ˈb̥u-əɫ̪] (cf. bobhal, boghal (B 2)), with alternation between a disyllable (with a short vowel followed by hiatus) and a diphthong, as is occasionally found in Lewis (Cox 2022, 127–28). Although ON ból ‘animal resting place; lair’ would be expected to yield SG bòl regularly, under (ii) the spelling bòl represents [b̥ɔˑɫ̪], which, given the evidence above, seems likely to be a weakly stressed and therefore reduced form of bobhal (B 2). The senses ‘place for resting and milking’ and ‘animal couch’ may simply be extensions of ‘stall’.
Shaw cites bol for ‘cow’, but this a typesetting error for bo, i.e. bò.
The etymology of OScots bowall, bowell etc. ‘recess in a wall’ (cf. Scots bole) is obscure, although DOST˄ tentatively suggests it may be a variant of Eng. bevel, and it might be worth considering whether it was borrowed from Scottish Gaelic or directly from Latin.