ONlwSG

cudaig m. 

The gender of variant forms cited below is as follows: cudaig m., cudaige m., cudag f.; cudainn f., cudan m.

[ˈkʰud̪̥iɡ̊ʲ], gen. cudaige -[ə], in the sense ‘young saithe’ is derived by Mackenzie (1910, 384) from ON kòdh [sic] ‘the fry of fish’. Mackenzie’s form is probably for Cleasby’s (1874) Ice. kóð nt. ‘the fry of trout and salmon’; the word is unattested in Old Norse, but cf. Nn. kôt (kôd) ‘small fry’ (Torp 1992). McDonald (2009, 376–78) considers the loan unlikely, noting that ON ó yielding SG u is unparalleled, but neither would ON ð be expected to yield SG d (Cox 2007b).

MacBain (1911) associates SG cudaig with Ir cudóg, códog [leg. codóg] ‘haddock’ (cf. Dinneen 1904), for which he suggests the etymology *cod-do-. However, cudóg and codóg are variants of Ir. cadóg, the normal word for ‘haddock’ in Munster and Connacht (Ó Baoill 1994, 181), contrast hadóg in Ulster and feadóg in Donegal (ibid., 182), all from Eng. haddock.

So SG adag.

(For Irish forms of cudaig, see below.)

SG cudaig refers to ‘a cuddy, i.e. a young saithe or coalfish, Pollachius virens’, and has a number of variant forms:

A. SG cudaig, cudaige, cudag
A 1. SG cudaig
In HSS 1828; MacEachen 1842, s.v. cudainn; Forbes 1905, 41, 354; Mackenzie 1910, 384; MacBain 1911; Dwelly 1911: see cudainn; Faclan bhon t-Sluagh^˄: Lewis, Skye, Sutherland, Ross-shire: cudaig-ruadh; AFB^˄.

A 2. SG cudaige
In Forbes 1905, 41, 354; MacLennan 1925: s.v. cudag; Wentworth 2003: [kʰutik’ə], Gairloch; Faclan bhon t-Sluagh^˄, s.v. an cudaige, an saoidhean, an t-umhcas: Applecross, and s.v. cudaice: Scalpay.

A 3. SG cudag
In Dwelly 1911: see cudainn; MacLennan 1925. From a non-native Gaelic speaker fascinated by the Gaelic influence in south Ayrshire, Faclan bhon t-Sluagh^˄ (s.v. cudag) slips ‘Other [Gaelic-originated words that come to mind] are scart = scarbh = parkin = partan = pickie = young saithe, also piteuchty (Girvan). This fish is the cudag – cudaige – cudann at the sprat stage and living in the harbour. ...’ [sic], although it is not always easy to differentiate Gaelic from Scots forms.

B. SG cudainn, cudan
B 1. SG cudainn
(i) cudainn (Shaw 1780: cudinn; MacFarlane 1817; HSS 1828: see cudaig; M^cAlpine 1832; MacEachen 1842; Forbes 1905, 41, 354; Dwelly 1911; MacLennan 1925; Dieckhoff 1928: [kudiNˈj], Glengarry; Faclan bhon t-Sluagh^˄: Tiree, Coll, Islay, North Argyll: [ku̜d̪ĩɲ]; AFB^˄); 

Farran (1946, 12) cites the Scots form cudden for SG cudainn.


(ii) cuideann (Faclan bhon t-Sluagh^˄, s.v. piocach, saoidhean, saoidhean mor = Sherlock: Mull);
(iii) cudann (from a non-native Gaelic speaker fascinated by the Gaelic influence in south Ayrshire, Faclan bhon t-Sluagh^˄ (s.v. cudag) slips ‘Other [Gaelic-originated words that come to mind] are scart = scarbh = parkin = partan = pickie = young saithe, also piteuchty (Girvan). This fish is the cudag – cudaige – cudann at the sprat stage and living in the harbour. ...’ [sic], although it is not always easy to differentiate Gaelic from Scots forms).

B 2. SG cudan
(i) cudan (Armstrong 1825; Forbes 1905, 41; Dwelly 1911: see cudainn; AFB^˄);
(ii) cudain (Faclan bhon t-Sluagh^˄: Mull: [kutɑ̣˖nʹ]).

SND^˄ compares Scots cuddie and cuddin with, while OED^˄ derives ‘chiefly Scottish’ cuddie (³cuddy 2.) and ‘local’ cuddin (cudden 2a.) from, SG cudaig and cudainn. However, the direction of borrowing is more likely to have been the other way: ON *kóð nt. yields Scots kød (SND^˄; Jakobsen 1928) and, with /d/ also interchanging with /đ/ between vowels, 

See Macafee and Aitken^˄ §6.31.4.

cuithe, cooth etc. (SND^˄; cf. Jakobsen ibid.: [køð]), which in turn yield the derivative forms cuddin and coothin, respectively. SND^˄ (s.v. coothin) suggests that final -in is probably the Norwegian suffixed definite article, citing Marwick 1929. Although Marwick (p. xxx) does indeed note that ‘[in] one or two cases the old suffixed definite article has lived on attached in a meaningless fashion to its parent stem’, (Orkney) kuithin is not listed among his examples, and it is possible that -in in this context arose by analogy with words such as Scots keelin ‘cod’ (s.v. cìlean), whitin ‘whiting’ (s.v. cuidhteag) and herlin ‘young sea trout’, 

MScots hirling, perhaps an adaptation of Eng. herle ‘the barb of an angling fly’ (SND^˄).

with -in for earlier -ing. For the substitution of final -in with the diminutive -ie in cuddin ~ cuddie, cf. Scots codlin ~ codlie, with confusion of the diminutives -lin(g) and -ie (SND^˄).

I.e. within Scots itself. For discussion of final -in ~ -ie alternation in Scottish Gaelic originated place-names, particularly in the east of Scotland, see Ó Maolalaigh 1998, 30–38: on the question of the origin of the Scots diminutive suffix -ie from p. 34, on the Early Gaelic diminutive suffix -ín from p. 36.

Scots cuddin yields SG cudainn (B 1) and, with an alternative (diminutive) suffix, cudan, locally cudain (B 2). The singular form cuideann (B 1(ii)), with transference of palatalisation, appears to be in error or idiolectal for cudainn; cudann (B 1(iii)), if it is meant as a Gaelic form, is probably for cudainn, either as a back-formation or in error.

Scots cuddin (cudding), or perhaps in some cases SG cudainn itself, yields SG cudaig, cf. SG feòirlinn ~ feòirlig ‘farthingland’, bòrlainn ~ bòrlaig ‘a strip of arable land’, farsainn ~ farsaig ‘wide’ (s.v. feòirling), occasionally cudaige, 

?By analogy with the ending -ige, found in a few loan-words, e.g. SG mastaige ‘an unpleasant person’ (Faclan bhon t-Sluagh^˄; ?< Scots masta(d)ge ‘mastiff; also applied to a person as a term of abuse’, variant of mastis (SND^˄)) and rustaige ‘an unpleasant old man’ (Faclan bhon t-Sluagh^˄; ?< Scots or Eng. rustic, used substantivally), and compare the substitution in cnèibige for cnèibilt ‘garter’ (s.v.).

or, with an alternative (diminutive) suffix, cudag.

SG cudainn has a more southerly distribution, while cudaig has a more northerly one. Ir. cudainn and (Antrim) cudán 

But Holmer 1942, 181: (Rathlin) [kʎdən].

(Dinneen 1947 

So Farren 1946, 12: cudainn, cudan.

) are possibly loan-words from Scottish Gaelic, but cf. Ulster-Scots cudden, also cudding ‘a small fish a few months after spawning’ (Macafee 1996).

Derivatives: SG cudaigeachd ‘rock-fishing for cuddies’ (Faclan bhon t-Sluagh^˄: Lewis; AFB^˄), a variant of *cudaigeach, cf. iasgachd for SG iasgach ‘fishing’.