English / Map Form: Ard Dorch
Gaelic Form: An Àird Dorcha
Location: Skye, Inner Hebrides
Post Town: ISLE OF SKYE
County: Inverness-shire
Local Authority: Highland
Nearest Main Roads: A87
English / Map Form: Ard Dorch
Gaelic Form: An Àird Dorcha
Language Notes
G nom. sg. fem. art. an + nom. sg. àird, fem. 'height' + dorch(a), 'dark' (with lack of lenition due to preceding homophone) = 'the dark height'Element Meaning
G àird ~ headland, promontory; dorch(a) ~ dark
Sources
Ard Dorch | 1880 OS 6 inch 1st edn. |
an t-Ard Dorch | Robertson |
Ard Dorch ‘the dark height’ | Forbes 1923, 50 |
An Àird Dorcha | OS Landranger |
Additional Information
Sgianaidean source confirmed the lack of expected lenition in dorch. Robertson’s form seems to reflect the changing of the gender of àird from feminine to masculine, perhaps to explain the lack of expected lenition in the adjective.