Irish local names explained

96 Vocabulary of Irish Root Words. ^
Ath [ah], a ford ;
ath^ ah, augh^ agh, a, aha, aw, &c.
Bad [baud], a boat.
Badhun [bawn], a oow fortress, the lawn of a castle.
Baile [bally], a town, atownland; hally, halli, vally
and in the eastern counties hal.
Ban [bawn], white or fair coloured;
vane, vaun.
lane, laun, lawn,
Barr [baur], the top, the highest point; lar^ laur. The
Bar of a townland (used in the north) is the high or
hilly part.
Beag [beg], little.
Bealach [ballagh], a road or pass ; lallagh^ vally.
Bealltaine [beltany], the first day of May; celebrated
as a festival by the pagan Irish.
Beann [ban, ben], a horn, a gable, a peak, or pointed
hill.
Beannchar [banaher], horns, gables, peaks ; lanagher,
langor.
Beam, bearna, bearnas [barn, barna, barnas], a gap, a
gap in a mountain ; lama, larny, varna, varny, lartiis,
vaniis, and often in the north larnet.
Bearuach [barnagh], gapped.
Beith [beh], the birch tree ; leitheach [behagh] abirchy
place; hehy, heha, leagh, lehagh, veha, vehy, &c.
Bel, beul [bale], the mouth, an entrance, a ford ; often
joined to ath in the compound lel-atha [bellaha,
bella], a ford-mouth or ford entrance.
Bile [billa], a large ancient tree ;
a tree held in venera-
tion for any reason ; billa, billy, villa, ville, villy, bella,
vella.
Biorar [birrer], watercress; usually corrupted to biolar
[biller] ; viller, vilra, &c.
Bo, a cow ; bo, boe, and by eclipse, moe (nibo) ; see
page 2.
Boireann [burren], a large rock, a rocky district
Both [boh], a tent or hut ; bo, boh, boha, bohy, voe,
Bothar [boher], a road ; boher and voher. In some of
the eastern counties it is corrupted to batter. Bohereen,
a little road.
Bia^had [braud], the th;vit; a gorjre: braid, broad,
brand.
^^