CHAPTER II.
OF COMPOSITION.
All compound words in Gaelic consist of two component parts, exclusive of the derivative terminations enumerated in the preceding Chapter. Of these component parts, the former may be conveniently named the Prepositive, the latter the Subjunctive term. It sometimes happens, though rarely, that the Subjunctive term also is a compound word, which must itself be decompounded in order to find out the Root.
In compounding words, the usual mode has been, to prefix to the term denoting the principal idea the word denoting the accessory idea or circumstance by which the signification of the principal word is modified. Accordingly we find Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs modified by prefixing to them a Noun, an Adjective, a Verb, or a Preposition.
In forming compound words, a Rule of very general application is, that when the Subjunctive term begins with a Consonant, it is aspirated. From this Rule, however, are to be excepted, 1. Words beginning with s followed by a mute, which never admit the aspirate; 2. Words beginning with a Lingual when the Prepositive term ends in n; 3. A few other instances in which there is an euphonic agreement between the Consonants thus brought into apposition, which would be violated if either of them were aspirated.
These observations will be found exemplified in the following Compounds:—
I. Words Compounded with a Noun prefixed.
Nouns Compounded with a Noun.
Beart dress, equipage, ceann head—ceann-bheart head-dress, armour for the head.
Fàinn a ring, cluas the ear—cluas-fhainn an ear-ring.
Galar a distemper, crith shaking—crith-ghalar distemper attended with shaking, the palsy.
Oglach a servant, bean (in composition, ban) a woman—banoglach a female servant.
Fàidh a prophet, ban-fhaidh a prophetess.
Tighearn a lord, baintighearn a lady.
Adjectives Compounded with a Noun.
Geal white, bian the skin—biangheal white-skinned.
Lom bare, cas the foot—caslom bare-foot; ceann the head—ceannlom bare-headed.
Biorach pointed, sharp, cluas the ear—cluasbhiorach having pointed ears.
Verbs Compounded with a Noun.
Luaisg to rock or toss, tonn a wave—tonn-luaisg to toss on the waves.
Sleamhnuich to slide, cùl the back—cùl-sleamhnuich to back-slide.
Folaich to hide, feall deceit—feall-fholaich to lie in wait.
II. Words Compounded with an Adjective Prefixed.
Nouns Compounded with an Adjective.
Uisge water, fior true, genuine—fioruisge spring-water.
Airgiod silver, beo alive—beo-airgiod quick-silver.
Sgolt a crack, crion shrunk, decayed—crionsgolt a fissure in wood caused by drought or decay.
Criochan bounds, regions, garbh rough—garbhchriochan rude mountainous regions.
Adjectives Compounded with an Adjective.
Donn brown, dubh black—dubh-dhonn dark-brown.
Gorm blue, dubh black—dubh-ghorm dark-blue.
Briathrach (not in use) from briathar a word, deas ready—deas-bhriathrach of ready speech, eloquent.
Seallach (not in use) from sealladh sight, geur sharp—geur-sheallach sharp-sighted.
Verbs Compounded with an Adjective.
Ruith to run, dian keen, eager—dian-ruith to run eagerly.
Lean to follow, geur sharp, severe—geur-lean to persecute.
Buail to strike, trom heavy—trom-buail to smite sore, discomfit.
Ceangail to bind, dlùth closer—dlùth-cheangail to bind fast.
III. Words Compounded with a Verb prefixed.
Art a stone, tarruing to draw—tarruing-art load-stone.
Sùil the eye, meall to beguile—meall-shuil a leering eye.
IV. Words Compounded with a Preposition.
Radh a saying, roimh before—roimh-radh preface, prologue.
Solus light, eadar between—eadar-sholus twilight.
Mìnich to explain, eadar-mhìnich to interpret.
Gearr to cut, timchioll about—timchioll-ghearr circumcise.
Lot to wound, troimh through—troimh-lot to stab, pierce through.
Examples of words compounded with an inseparable Preposition are already given in Part II. Chap. VII.
Compound Nouns retain the gender of the principal Nouns in their simple state. Thus crith-ghalar palsy, is masculine, because the principal Noun, Galar distemper, is masculine, although the accessary Noun crith, by which galar is qualified, be feminine. So cìs-mhaor is masculine though cìs be a feminine Noun, Luke xviii. 11; cìs-mheasadh ought also to be masculine, Acts v. 37. Except Nouns compounded with
Bean woman, which are all feminine, though the simple principal Noun be masculine, because the compound word denotes an object of the female sex; as, oglach a servant, masculine, but banoglach a maid-servant, feminine, caraid a friend, masculine, bancharaid a female friend, feminine.
Compound words are declined in the same manner as if they were uncompounded.
In writing compound words, the component parts are sometimes separated by a hyphen, and sometimes not. The use of the hyphen does not seem to be regulated by any uniform practice. In the case of two vowels coming in apposition, the insertion of a hyphen seems indispensable; because, by the analogy of Gaelic orthography, two Vowels, belonging to different syllables, are scarcely ever placed next to each other without some mark of separation[[118]]. Thus so-aomaidh, easily induced, propense; so-iomchair, easily carried; do-innsidh, difficult to be told; and not soamaidh, doinnsidh, &c., without the hyphen.
It was formerly remarked, Part I., that almost all Gaelic Polysyllables are accented on the first syllable. When, in pronouncing compound words, the accent is placed on the first syllable, the two terms appear to be completely incorporated into one word. When, on the other hand, the accent is placed, not on the first syllable of the Compound, but on the first syllable of the Subjunctive term, the two terms seem to retain their respective powers, and to produce their effect separately, and instead of being incorporated into one word, to be rather collaterally connected. A rule may then be derived from the pronunciation for the use of the hyphen in writing Compounds, viz., to insert the hyphen between the component parts, when the Prepositive term is not accented. Thus it is proposed to write aineolach ignorant, antromaich to exaggerate, comhradh conversation, dobheart a bad action,
soisgeul Gospel, banoglach a maidservant, &c., without a hyphen; but to write an-fhiosrach unacquainted, ban-fhiosaiche a female fortune-teller, co-fhreagarach corresponding, so-fhaicsin easily seen, &c., with a hyphen[[119]]. By this rule, a correspondence is maintained, not only between the writing and the pronunciation, but likewise between the written language and the ideas expressed by it. A complex idea, whose parts are most closely united in the mind, is thus denoted by one undivided word; whereas an idea composed of parts more loosely connected, is expressed by a word, whereof the component parts are distinguished, and exhibited separately to the eye. Thus also the Gaelic scholar would have one uniform direction to follow in reading, viz., to place the accent always on the first syllable of an undivided word, or member of a word. If any exception be allowed, it must be only in the case already stated of two vowels coming in apposition, as beo-airgiod quicksilver.
Let it be observed that, according to this rule, an Adjective preceding a Noun can never, but in the case just mentioned, be connected with it by a hyphen. For if the accent be wholly transferred from the Noun to the Adjective, then they are to be written as one undivided word; as, garbhchriochan highlands; but if the accent be not so transferred, the Adjective and the Noun are to be written as two separate words; as, seann duine an old man, deagh chomhairle good advice, droch sgeul a bad tale.
It not unfrequently happens that two Nouns, whereof the one qualifies the meaning of the other, and connected by the common grammatical relation of the one governing the other in the Genitive, come through use to be considered as denoting only one complex object. The two Nouns in this case are sometimes written together in one word, and thus form a Compound of a looser structure than those which have been considered. Such are ceann-cinnidh, the head of a tribe or
clan; ceann-tighe, the head of a family; ceann-feadhna, the leader of an army; fear-turnis, a traveller; luchd-faire, watchmen; iobairt-pheacaidh, a sin-offering; urlar-bualaidh, a threshing-floor; fear-bainse, a bridegroom; crith-thalmhain, an earth-quake; crios-guailne, a shoulder-belt, &c. In writing Compound Nouns of this description, the two Nouns are never written in one undivided word, but always separated by a hyphen. It comes to be a question, however, in many instances of one Noun governing another in the Genitive, whether such an expression is to be considered as a compound term, and the words to be connected by a hyphen in writing, or whether they are to be written separately, without any such mark of composition. An observation that was made in treating of the Government of Nouns may help us to an answer, and furnish an easy rule in the case in question. It was remarked that when one Noun governed another in the Genitive, the Article was never joined to both; that for the most part, it was joined to the Noun governed, but sometimes to the Noun governing, that in the latter case, the two Nouns seemed to figure as one compound term, denoting one complex idea. If this last remark hold true, it may be laid down as a rule that in every instance of a Noun governing another in the Genitive, where the Article is or may be prefixed to the governing Noun, there the two Nouns ought to be connected by a hyphen in writing; otherwise not. Thus we can say, without impropriety, an ceann-feadhna, the commander; an luchd-coimhid, the keepers; and the Nouns are accordingly considered as Compounds, and written with a hyphen. But it would be contrary to the usage of the language to say, am mullach craige, the top of a rock; an t-uachdar talmhain, the surface of the ground. Accordingly it would be improper to write a hyphen between the Nouns in these and similar examples.
The different effects of these two modes of writing, with or without the hyphen, is very observable in such instances as the following:—Ainm dùthcha, the name of a country, as Scotland, Argyle, &c.; ainm-dùthcha, a country name, or
patronymic, as Scotsman, Highlander, &c.; clann Donuill, Donald's children; clann-Donuill, the Macdonalds.
Though few have exerted themselves hitherto in explaining the structure of the Gaelic language, in respect of its inflections, construction, and collocation, this cannot be said to be the case with regard to Etymology. Much has been attempted, and something has been done, toward analysing single vocables, particularly names of places. But this analysis seems to have been too often made rather in a way of random conjecture than by a judicious regard to the analogy of Derivation and Composition. The passion for analysing has even induced some to assert that all true Gaelic Primitives consist of but one syllable, that all Polysyllables are either derived or compounded, and therefore that there is room to search for their etymon. This seems to be carrying theory too far. It appears a fruitless and rather chimerical attempt to propose a system of directions by which all Polysyllables whatever may be resolved into component parts, and traced to a root of one syllable. All I have thought it necessary to do is to methodize and exemplify those general principals of Etymology which are obvious and unquestioned, and which regulate the composition and derivation of those classes of words whereof the analysis may be traced with some probability of success.