Portnahaven
Port na h-Abhainne
Meaning
harbour at the foot of the river
Location
Argyll & Bute
Argyll & Bute
PA47
NR168522
English / Map Form: Portnahaven
Gaelic Form: Port na h-Abhainne
Location: Islay, Inner Hebrides
Post Town: ISLE OF ISLAY
Postcode area: PA47
County: Argyll & Bute
Local Authority: Argyll & Bute
English / Map Form: Portnahaven
Gaelic Form: Port na h-Abhainne
Language Notes
Now understood as: nom. sg. port, masc. 'harbour' + gen. sg. fem. art. na (with h-before vowels) + old gen. sg. of abhainn, fem. 'river' = 'the foot of the river'Element Meaning
G port ~ harbour; abhainn ~ river
Sources
| Portnahaivne | c. 1750 MacDougall’s map |
| Portnahawin | 1801 Langlands |
| Portnahaven | 1804 Heather |
| Portnahavan | 1820 Thomson |
| Portnahaven | 1849 Admiralty Chart 2515 |
| Portnahaven | 1882 OS |
| Port na h-Abhainne | Lands of Lordship |
| ann am Port na h-Abhainne | Seanchas Ile, 72 |
| Port na h-Abhann now generally Port na h-Abhainn(e) | Cox 2008 |
| Port na h-Abhainne | (Port Ellen). |
Additional Information
Cox in JSNS 2008, 55 and n23 makes a convincing case for the specific reflecting ON hafn-, ‘harbour’ originally, with reanalysis to the current form.