English / Map Form: Foyers
Gaelic Form: Foithir
Location: Inverness area, Highland
Post Town: INVERNESS
County: Inverness-shire
Local Authority: Highland
Nearest Main Roads: IV2
English / Map Form: Foyers
Gaelic Form: Foithir
Language Notes
G foithir from fo preposition, 'under' + lenited oblique form of tìr, 'land'Element Meaning
G foithir ~ slope
Sources
| Foir | 1745 Herman Moll’s The East Part of the Shire of Inverness |
| Foithir* | Dwelly 1912 |
| Foithear | Watson 1926, 509 |
| Foithir | Watson 2001 (1909), 159. |
Additional Information
Watson 1909: “means ‘low-land’; here ‘little slope‘ or ‘terrace’.”
The most likely derivation for this name is Watson’s fo, ‘under, low’ + tìr, ‘land’. It is possible, though unlikely, that this name reflects a primary river-name. The present name, however, is lexically obscure and does not take the article.