English / Map Form: Bunarkaig
Gaelic Form: Bun Airceig
Location: Lochaber, Highland
Post Town: SPEAN BRIDGE
County: Inverness-shire
Local Authority: Highland
Nearest Main Roads: A8005
English / Map Form: Bunarkaig
Gaelic Form: Bun Airceig
Genitive Form: Bhun Airceig
Language Notes
G nom. sg. bun, masc. ‘foot’ + possibly gen. sg. of Airceag, obscure river-name element = ‘the foot of the river Arcaig’.Element Meaning
G bun ~ foot; Airceag ~ obscure river-name
Sources
| [loch]-Argaig | c. 1620 Pont text 85v |
| Lochairgak | 1630 Geog. Coll. ii, 221 |
| BOWN ARKIGG | 1796 Plan of Intended Road… RHP11607 |
| Bun Arkaig | 1874 OS 6inch 1st ed. |
| Airceág or Airceig | Watson 1926, 449 |
| Bun-Airceig | MacMillan, 254 |
| Arcaig | MacKinnon, 20 |
| Bun Arcaig | previous signage |
| Bun Airceig | Robertson |
Additional Information
Beveridge, 38, states Bunarkaig has not been found on any old documents. He implies that the name was once Inverarkaig, which is no longer extant but present in some old forms. Given the paucity of old forms for this name, this seems reasonable. See Inchree entry for another example of the interchangibility between bun and inbhir in this area.
