ONlwSG

tanga m. [ˈt̪ʰɑ̃ŋɡ̊ə] (also tang, with apocope), gen. tanga (tangadh), ‘promontory’ is an obsolete word attested in place-names in Lewis: SG An Tanga 

Oftedal’s fieldwork notes: [n^thɑŋɡ], with aphaerisis.

‘the promontory’ and Geodha an Tanga ‘the cove of An Tanga’ NB506657, and (≈1843–82) Rubha an Tangadh ‘the promontory (of the promontory)’ NB379205 and (≈1843–82) Loch Mòr an Tangadh and Loch Beag an Tangadh ‘the greater and lesser (Loch an Tangadh 

Oftedal’s fieldwork notes: [ɫɔx ə ˈn^thɑŋɡ].

“the loch of the promontory”)’ NB378194. SG tanga is no doubt derived from tanga, an oblique form of ON tangi m. ‘tongue; tongue of land, promontory’; SG tanga was evidently treated at one time as a dental stem, 

Perhaps on the analogy of SG teanga ‘tongue’, EG tengae, a feminine dental stem.

hence the earlier genitive inflection -adh. The pronunciation [ˈt̪ʰɑ̃ŋɡ̊ə] is a comparatively conservative Gaelic reflex of ON tanga, and might have been expected to have developed into [ˈt̪ʰɑ̃ɣə], had the word survived in the lexicon, cf. SG [ˈɫ̪ɑ̃ɣə] ‘ling’ < ON langa (s.v. langa); cf. also SG (Lewis) teanga [ˈt̪^jʰɛ̃ɣə] ‘tongue’ (cf. Oftedal 1956, 59; SGDS Item 836, Points 1–9).

Derivatives: Cox (2022, 927–30) suggests that Tangaidh [ˈt̪ʰɑ̃ŋɡ̊i], a deserted village name in Lewis NB357520, might be a genitive form of an o-stem noun, i.e. SG Tangadh < SG Tanga (with closing of an otherwise open final syllable, e.g. SG feòil ‘meat’, gen. feòla, feòladh 

Which itself might be due to analogy with dental stems.

), i.e. a loan-name from ON *Tanga obl., or, more likely, a dative form of SG *Tangach ‘the place of the promontory’ (from EG *tanga (< ON tanga obl.) + the suffix of place -ach), i.e. EG *Tangaigh -/iɣ´/, which became SG Tangaidh -/i/, cf. SG Lagaidh ‘the place of the hollow’ (today, the name of a hill at approx. NB275453) < EG *Locaigh dat. < EG loc f. ‘hollow’ + -ach (Cox 2002a, 60, 116, 307; Watson 1904, xxxiv–xxxvi), before unstressed EG /ɣ´/ [ʝ] became /x´/ [ç] during the 13th century.

(Old Norse loan-names such as SG Tanganis NB145407 < ON *Tanganes ‘(the) promontory of the tongue (of land)’ (Cox 2022, ibid.) are not evidence for ON tanga having been borrowed into Gaelic.)