v1.0
Published 01/10/24
faoilinn f. [ˈfɯ:liɲ] ‘gravel bank or sandbank’; the range of forms of this word theoretically includes (with non-palatalised or palatalised ending) faoileann, faoilinn, (without initial f-) aoireann, aoirinn and (with non-palatalised medial consonants) faolann, faolainn, aorann, aorainn.
The word is relatively common as a place-name element on the west of Scotland:
(1) (South Uist) Peighinn nan Aoireann occurs on the west coast of South Uist, NF747350 (Taylor 2011, s.v. Peninerine).
(2) (Arran) An Aoirinn [ə ɴöːr’in’]
Which Robertson (in King 2019, 412) spells an Éirinn, i.e. with a stressed vowel close to [eː] or [øː].
(Holmer 1957, 78, 108–09; Taylor ibid., s.v. Whitefarland) and Rubha na h‑Aoireann [ru.ə ɴə höːr’əɴ] (ibid., 78) occur in Arran, NR864424.
For early documentary forms of Rubha na h‑Aoireann, see Fraser 1999, 149.
Robertson (ibid., 412–13) notes three names with the same element to the north at Lochranza: ?A’ Chlach-Aorainn
Robertson: a’ Chlacha͝or̀ainn (for medial [rʲ], Robertson uses an r with a grave accent).
(cf. OS 1843–82 Clachurin NR932504), An Aorainn Bheag (cf. OS 1843–82 Urinbeg NR930505) and An Aorainn Mhòr.
(3) (Kintyre) Rubha na h‑Aoireann occurs on the west of Kintyre, facing Gigha, NR690493 (Gillies 1906, 332: Rhunahaoirine), and Aoireann a’ Bhalla was formerly the name of West Tarbert (Henderson ibid., 140), the name perhaps originating from the area below OS 1843–82 Barabhalla NR837665. On the east coast are North and South Erins NR860750 (MacKinnon 1907, 92, reprinted in Henderson 1910, 140).
(4) (Jura) Aoireann a’ Chaoil occurred on the west coast of Jura, opposite Portaskaig in Islay, NR440690 (Robertson ibid., 386: Faolin, Feolin); this is now Fadhlainn
This spelling suggests a stressed vowel [əː] or [ɤː] and a connection with fadhail, q.v.
or Faolainn (Taylor ibid., s.v. Feolin). On the east coast of Jura are An Aoireann (Robertson ibid., 393: Faolin House; ?= OS 1843–82 Faolin Farm NR533691) and Eilean na h‑Aoirinn NR622831 (Gillies ibid., 134).
(5) (Loch Long) Faoilinn is found on the eastern shore of Loch Long at NS233939, and probably on the western shore at NS236959 (OS 1843–82 Feoileann; Henderson ibid., 141: Feōilean; cf. Feolin for Faoilinn on the west of Jura).
(6) (Mull) Faoileann is found in the south-west of Mull NM405228 and Faoileann Ghlas on the east of the island NM624432.
(7) (Skye) The form faoilinn is recorded in Skye by Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄ and occurs in place-names in the south of the island at NG566202 (OS 1843–82 Faoilean), NG375251 (OS 1843–82 Fo‑làn) and NG396313 (OS 1843–82 Faoileann an Triain; Robertson ibid., 203: Am Faoileann); cf. Taylor ibid., s.v. Faolin: Fadhlainn or Faolainn.
(8) (Raasay) Henderson (ibid., 141) notes that the form faoileann is recorded in Raasay.
(9) (Lewis) The form faoilinn is recorded in south-west Lewis: Faoilinn na Tràghad, Faoilinn na h‑Àirde Bige (Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄); on the West Side, Cox (2002a, 277) records An Fhaoilinn [ə ˈɴəːlɪɴ’]
Unless [əː] is in error for [ɯː] here; cf. AFB˄, which gives fadhlainn /fɤːʟɪɴʲ/ ‘raised beach’ for locations in Lewis, Skye and mainland Scotland.
.
(10) (Wester Ross) (An) F(h)aoilinn is found at the head of Loch Reraig NG834360 (Robertson ibid., 134); An Fhaoilinn and Cadha na Faoilinn at Applecross, approx. NG712443 (Watson 1904, 204; Henderson ibid., 141; Robertson ibid., 137: An Fhaoilinn or Pairce na Faoilinn); An Fhaoilinn NG898559 (Robertson ibid., 148
But given as An Fhaolainn in MacDonald et al. 2018, 119.
) and Faoilinn na h‑Annaite NG894550 (ibid., 144: Am Mol Mór or Faoilein na h‑Annaite) at the head of Loch Torridon; and An Fhaoilinn [ə ˈɴɯːl’iɴ’] and Taigh na Faoilinne (sic) [ tʰɑj nə ˈfɯːl’iɴ’] at Gairloch, NG799772 (Wentworth 2003, s.v. Faolin and Tighnafiline; Taylor ibid., s.v. Faolin: An Fhaoilinn).
(11) (West Sutherland) ?An Fhaoileann is the former Gaelic name for Lochinver, approx. NC093228 (Henderson ibid., 141; now Loch an Inbhir (Taylor ibid., s.v. Lochinver)); ?Faoileann is found at the head of Loch Glen Coul, approx. NC284334 (Henderson ibid.); and An Fhaoileann at Scourie, NC149447 (OS 1843–82 An Fhaodhailinn; Robertson ibid., 169: An Fhaoilinn; Henderson ibid.: An Fhaoileann, dat. anns An Fhaoilinn).
Henderson (ibid., 140–42) suggests the word is based on ON fjara f. ‘ebb-tide; foreshore, beach’ + suffixed article (but see below), although ON fjaran seems phonetically unlikely to be behind the Gaelic forms. MacBain (1896) takes faoilinn to be from ON vaðlinn, from vaðill m. ‘wading place, shallow water’ + suffixed article, but neither the phonetics nor semantics suit. Given the range of forms in Gaelic, McDonald (2009, 353) suggests both ON fjara and ON vaðill might be involved to some extent but concludes the loan is unlikely. MacBain (1922, 174, 350–51) takes the specific element in Peighinn an aoirinn (Peighinn nan Aoireann, South Uist), Rhu na h‑aoirinn (Rubha na h‑Aoireann, Kintyre) and Eilean na h‑aoirinn (Eilean na h‑Aoirinn, Jura) to be for aifreann m. [ˈafɾʲəᵰ̪], aifhreann [ˈaiɾʲəᵰ̪] ‘mass’, but the stressed vowel is substantially different. Gillies (ibid., 187) claims aoirean (sic
It is assumed Gillies means aoireann.
) is the plural form of ON eyrr f. ‘gravel bank or sandbank’; this is initially refuted but later accepted by Henderson (ibid., 140, 354).
Senses given tend to be location specific: ‘level raised beach, not high above the sea, not necessarily grassless, of fair extent, e.g. at least eighty to a hundred yards long; in some parts a sandy spit, a sandy part of the shore where rocks abound on either side’ (Carmina Gadelica VI, 70: faoilinn, faoileann); ‘a ridge above a sandy beach with a marsh on its landward side; sometimes awash during spring-tides’ (MacDonald 1946, 24); more generally it is described as a ‘raised beach; stony beach; field or stony place by the shore’ (e.g. Faclan bhon t-Sluagh˄; Campbell 1969, 360; Taylor ibid., s.v. Faolin); MacKinnon (ibid.) points out that the aoireanns of South Argyll are or have been ‘ferries’, but Henderson (ibid., 141) notes this must be secondary.
A derivation from ON eyrr f. ‘gravel bank or sandbank’ is obviously attractive from a semantic point of view, but ON ey can normally be expected to yield [eː] or [ia] in Gaelic, e.g. (Lewis) ON *Streymanes > SG Srèiminis [ˈs̪t̪ɾẽːməˌniʃ], ON *Steypavatn > SG (Loch) Stiapabhat [ˈʃtʲiaʰpəˌvaʰt̪] (Cox 2022, 178). However, ON ey was raised by around 1050 from CSc. ø̨y [œy]. CSc. ø̨y may have approximated the Early Gaelic diphthong áe, aí, óe, oí, e.g. EG cáel > (Lewis) caol [kʰɯːɫ̪] (Oftedal 1956, 82: /kɯːʟ/), (Arran) caoil [køːl], [ke̩ːl] (Holmer 1957, 77: [kEːl’]).
For a comparison of dialectal reflexes of EG áe in Scottish Gaelic, see SGDS Item 147: caol.
CSc. ø̨yrr, or ø̨yri acc./dat., borrowed into Gaelic as a feminine n-stem, might yield SG (nom.) aoir(e), (acc.) aoirinn, (gen.) aoireann, (dat.) aoirinn, with acc./dat. or gen. forms later normalised as radical (nom./acc.) forms, cf. EG lecc f. ‘flat stone’ (SG leac) > SG leacann f. ‘slope etc.’, EG goḃae m. ‘smith’ (SG gobha) > EG goḃann ‘idem’ (SG gobhann, gobhainn). SG aoireann in the south might easily yield faoileann, faoilinn to the north, with prothetic f- (cf. farspag for arspag, q.v.) and interchange of l for r (cf. coireach adj. (Lewis) [ˈkʰaɾʲɔx], [ˈkʰalɔx], ruig vb (Lewis) [liɡ̊ʲ] (in the phrase cha ruig ... a leas
Although this involves morphemic substitution. For further examples of l > r, see Calder 1972, 67–68.
), for which there may have been impetus from EG faílenn, foílenn and/or SG faoileann, faoilinn, faoileag f. ‘gull’. On this basis, it may be that an original nominative aoir survives in the plural form Na h‑Aoirean NM719785 (Eng. Irine) (Robertson ibid., 248), although this is listed as Aorinn by Kirby (2015, 217–18
Who cites various suggested derivations: aoireann ‘foreshore, beach’, irionn ‘field’, na h‑aorainn ‘the place of worship’, earrann ‘section of land’, and [aoireann] ‘sandbank or shoal’.
).
In Tiree, SG *Aoir NL948477 seems to be a loan-name (rather than a loan-word) from CSc. *Ø̨yrr or *Ø̨yri acc./dat. (Holliday 2016, 246–47). Later ON eyrr is frequent in loan-names, e.g. in Lewis in SG Èire < ON *Eyri dat., SG Èire Solt < ON *Eyrin Sǫltu dat. and SG (Loch) Èirearaigh < ON *Eyrará (gen.) (Cox 2022, 702, 808).