Tarbert

Last updated

Tarbert (Scottish Gaelic : An Tairbeart) is a place name in Scotland and Ireland. Places named Tarbert are characterised by a narrow strip of land, or isthmus. This can be where two lochs nearly meet, or a causeway out to an island.

Contents

Etymology

All placenames that variously show up as tarbert, tarbat or tarbet in their anglicised form derive from either the Irish or Scottish Gaelic an tairbeart, commonly translated as "the isthmus" today. [2]

Both these words derive from two Old Irish elements, tar "across" and a nominalised form of the verb ber "to carry". [3] The /ɾ/ in tar was assimilated to /ɾʲ/ as a result of being next to the historically palatal /bʲ/ in Old Irish, causing the change in spelling from tar to tair-. So the literal translation would be an "across-carrying". The reason for this is that all tarberts are in fact located at or near old portage sites.

In English language spellings the first syllable "tar" has generally remained constant but the second syllable "bert" has variously been spelled as "bart", "bert" "bat", "bad" etc. [4]

Examples

Places named Tarbert include:

Scotland

Ireland

Canada

See also

Related Research Articles

Firth is a word in the English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more usually refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to fjord which has a more constrained sense in English. Bodies of water named "firths" tend to be more common on the Scottish east coast, or in the southwest of the country, although the Firth of Lorn is an exception to this. The Highland coast contains numerous estuaries, straits, and inlets of a similar kind, but not called "firth" ; instead, these are often called sea lochs. Before about 1850, the spelling "Frith" was more common.

Argyll and Bute Council area of Scotland

Argyll and Bute is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current Lord-Lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod. The administrative centre for the council area is in Lochgilphead at Kilmory Castle, a 19th-century Gothic Revival building and estate. The current Council leader is Councillor Robin Currie, a councillor for Kintyre and the Islands.

Harris, Outer Hebrides Human settlement in Scotland

Harris is the southern and more mountainous part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Although not an island itself, Harris is often referred to as the Isle of Harris, which is the former postal county and the current post town for Royal Mail postcodes starting HS3 or HS5; see HS postcode area.

Argyll Historic county in Scotland

Argyll, sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.

Kintyre

Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about 30 miles, from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately north of Kintyre is known as Knapdale.

Gigha Island in Scotland

Gigha ; Scottish Gaelic: Giogha; Scots: Gigha) or the Isle of Gigha is an island off the west coast of Kintyre in Scotland. The island forms part of Argyll and Bute and has a population of 163 people. The climate is mild with higher than average sunshine hours and the soils are fertile. The main settlement is Ardminish.

Knapdale Human settlement in Scotland

Knapdale forms a rural district of Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands, adjoining Kintyre to the south, and divided from the rest of Argyll to the north by the Crinan Canal. It includes two parishes, North Knapdale and South Knapdale. The area is bounded by sea to the east and west, whilst the sea loch of West Loch Tarbert almost completely cuts off the area from Kintyre to the south. The name is derived from two Gaelic elements: Cnap meaning hill and Dall meaning field.

Tarbert, Kintyre Village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland

Tarbert is a village in the west of Scotland, in the Argyll and Bute council area. It is built around East Loch Tarbert, an inlet of Loch Fyne, and extends over the isthmus which links the peninsula of Kintyre to Knapdale and West Loch Tarbert. Tarbert had a recorded population of 1,338 in the 2001 Census.

Tarbet may refer to different places in Scotland:

Tarbet, Argyll Human settlement in Scotland

Tarbet is a small village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Located within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.

Tayinloan Human settlement in Scotland

Tayinloan is a village situated on the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The village has a sub post office, general store and a small hotel, a village hall and a play park. There is a cafe bar situated beside the ferry car park which also offers self-catering or bed and breakfast accommodation. The nearest towns are Campbeltown and Tarbert.

Tarbert a place name in Scotland and Ireland.

Hinba

Hinba is an island in Scotland of uncertain location that was the site of a small monastery associated with the Columban church on Iona. Although a number of details are known about the monastery and its early superiors, and various anecdotes dating from the time of Columba of a mystical nature have survived, modern scholars are divided as to its whereabouts. The source of information about the island is Adomnán's late 7th-century Vita Columbae.

West Loch Tarbert, Argyll

West Loch Tarbert, Argyll is a long and narrow sea loch on the western side of the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland.

MV <i>Sound of Gigha</i>

MV Sound of Gigha was a pioneering roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ferry operating on the west coast of Scotland. She was launched as Isle of Gigha in May 1966. On 11 November 1966, she capsized off Islay. Salvaged, overhauled, and renamed, she provided thirty years of service between Islay and Jura.

MV Sound of Islay was the first ro-ro ferry on the west coast of Scotland. Built for Western Ferries in 1968, she served Islay and later Campbeltown – Red Bay. In 1981, she was sold to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and still operates in eastern Canada.

References

  1. Foclóir Póca An Gúm 1992
  2. Dwelly, E. The Illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary 1901
  3. MacBain, A. (1911) An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language Stirling. Eneas MacKay. 1982 edition by Gairm ISBN   0-901771-68-6.
  4. "Tarbert History: Who Named it, 'Tarbert'?" Archived 2008-12-20 at the Wayback Machine Tarbert.info. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
  5. "Tarbert, Argyll and Bute". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  6. "Tarbert". GeoNames. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  7. "Tarbert, Highland". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 18 May 2021.