Part 2 — CHAPTER VII.

OF PREPOSITIONS.

The Prepositions, strictly so called, are single words, most of them monosyllables, employed to mark relation. Relation is also expressed by combinations of words which often correspond to simple prepositions in other languages. These combinations are, not improperly, ranked among the prepositions. The following lists contain first the Prepositions properly so called, which are all simple; secondly, improper Prepositions, which, with one or two exceptions, seem all to be made up of a simple Preposition and a Noun.

Proper Prepositions.

Aig, Ag, at. Fuidh, Fo, under. Os, above.

Air, on. Gu, Gus, to. Re, Ri, Ris, to.

Ann, in. Gun, without. Roimh, before.

As, A, out of. Iar, after. Tar, Thar, over, across.

De, of. Le, Leis, with, by. Tre, through.

Do, to Mar, like to. Troimh,

Eadar, between. Mu, about. Throimh,

Fa, upon. O, Ua, from. Seach, past, in comparison with.

The Preposition ann is often written double, ann an eolas, in knowledge; ann an gliocas, in wisdom. The final n or nn is changed into m before a labial; as, am measg, among; ann am meadhon, in midst. Before the Article or the Relative, this Preposition is written anns; as, anns an toiseach, in the beginning, an cor anns am bheil e, the condition in which he is; and in this situation the letters ann are often dropped, and the s alone retained, 's an toiseach, in the beginning.

De, so far as I know, is found in no Scottish publications. The reasons which have induced me to assign it a place among the prepositions will be mentioned in treating of the combinations of the Proper Prepositions with the Personal Pronouns.

The Preposition do, like the verbal particle, and the Possessive Pronoun of the same sound, loses the o before a vowel, and the consonant is aspirated; thus, dh' Albainn, to Scotland. It is also preceded sometimes by the vowel a when it follows a final consonant; as, dol a dh' Eirin, going to Ireland. This a seems to be nothing else than the vowel of do transposed; just as the letters of the pronouns mo, do, are in certain situations transposed, and become am, ad. In this situation, perhaps it would be advisible to join the a, in writing, to the dh thus, dol adh Eirin. This would rid us of one superfluous a appearing as a separate inexplicable word. The same remarks apply to the prep. de; e.g., armailt mhòr de dhaoinibh agus a dh' eachaibh, a great army of men and of horses, lan do [de] reubainn agus a dh' aingidheachd, full of ravining and wickedness, Luke xi. 39. Do, as has been already observed, often loses the d altogether, and is written a; as, dol a Dhuneidin, going to Edinburgh. When the preposition is thus robbed of its articulation, and only a feeble obscure vowel sound is left, another corruption very naturally follows, and this vowel, as well as the consonant, is discarded, not only in speaking, but even in writing; as, chaidh e Dhuneidin, he went to Edinburgh; chaidh e thìr eile, he went to another land; where the nouns appear in their aspirated form, without any word to govern them.

Fa has been improperly confounded with fuidh or fo. That fa signifies upon, is manifest from such phrases as fa 'n bhord, upon the board, said of a dead body stretched upon a board; leigeader fa làr, dropped on the ground, Carswell: fa 'n adhbhar ud, on that account, equivalent to air an adhbhar ud, see Psal. cvi. 42, and xlv. 2, metr. version.

The reason for admitting iar after, has been already given in treating of the Compound Tenses of Verbs in Chap. V.

The manner of combining these prepositions with nouns will be shown in treating of Syntax. The manner of combining them with the personal pronouns must be explained in this place, because in that connection they appear in a form somewhat different from their radical form. A Proper Preposition is joined to a Personal Pronoun by incorporating both into one word, commonly with some change on the Preposition, or on the Pronoun, or on both.

The following are the Prepositions which admit of this kind of combination, incorporated with the several Personal Pronouns:

Prep. Singular. Plural.

1st Pers. 2d Pers. 3d Pers. 1st Pers. 2d Pers. 3d Pers.

Aig, Ag; agam, agad, m. aige, at him; againn, agaibh, aca,

at. at me, at thee. f. aice, at her. at us. at you. at them

Air; orm, ort, m. air. oirnn, oirbh, orra.

f. oirre. uirre. orra.

Ann; annam, annad, m. ann. annainn, annaibh, annta.

f. innte.

As; asam, asad, m. as. asainn, asaibh, asda.

f. aisde.

De; dhiom, dhiot, m. dheth. dhinn, dhibh, dhiu.

f. dh'i.

Do; dhomh, dhom, dhuit, m. dha. dhuinn, dhuibh, dhoibh.

f. dh'i.

Eadar; ... ... ... eadarainn, eadaraibh, eatorra.

Fo, Fuidh; fodham, fodhad, m. fodha. fodhainn, fodhaibh, fodhpa.

f. fuidhpe.

Gu; h-ugam, h-ugad, m. h-uige. h-ugainn, h-ugaibh, h-uca.

f. h-uice.

Le; leam, leat, m. leis. leinn, leibh, leo.

f. leatha.

Mu; umam, umad, m. uime. umainn, umaibh, umpa.

f. uimpe.

O, Ua; uam, uait, m. uaith. uainn, uaibh, uapa.

f. uaipe.

Re, Ri; rium, riut, m. ris. ruinn, ribh, riu.

f. rithe.

Roimh; romham, romhad, m. roimhe. romhainn, romhaibh, rompa.

f. roimpe.

Thar; tharam, tharad, f. thairte. tharuinn, tharuibh, tharta.

Troimh; tromham, tromhad, m. troimhe. tromhainn, tromhaibh, trompa.

f. troimpe.

Dhiom, dhiot, &c., and dhomh, dhuit, &c., are written with a plain d after a Lingual; diom, domh, &c.

Eadar is not incorporated with the pronouns of the singular number, but written separately; eadar mis agus thusa, between me and thee.

In combining gu and mu with the pronouns, the letters of the Prepositions suffer a transposition, and are written ug, um. The former of these was long written with ch prefixed, thus chugam, &c. The translators of the Scriptures, observing that ch neither corresponded to the pronunciation, nor made part of the radical Preposition, exchanged it for th, and wrote thugam. The th, being no more than a simple aspiration, corresponds indeed to the common mode of pronouncing the word. Yet it may well be questioned whether the t, even though aspirated, ought to have a place, if g be the only radical consonant belonging to the Preposition. The component parts of the word might be exhibited with less disguise, and the common pronunciation (whether correct or not), also represented, by retaining the h alone, and connecting it with the Preposition by a hyphen, as when written before a Noun, thus h-ugam, h-ugaibh, &c.

Air cheann; at [the] end, against a certain time.

Air feadh, Air fad; throughout, during.

Air muin; on the back, mounted on.

Air sgàth; for the sake, on pretence.

Air son; on account.

Air tòir; in pursuit.

Air beulaobh; on the fore side, before.

Air culaobh; on the back side, behind.

Am fochair; in presence.

Am measg; in the mixture, amidst, among.

An aghaidh; in the face, against, in opposition.

An ceann; in the end, at the expiration.

An comhail, An coinnimh; in meeting, to meet.

An cois, A chois; at the foot, near to, hard by.

An dàil; in the rencounter, to meet.

An diaigh, An deigh, An deaghaidh, An déis; probably for an deireadh; in the end, after.

An eiric; in return, in requital.

Am fianuis, An lathair; in presence.

An lorg; in the track, in consequence.

As eugais, As easbhuidh; in want, without.

As leth; in behalf, for the sake.

A los; in order to, with the intention of.

Car; during.

Do bhrigh, a bhrigh; by virtue, because.

Do chòir, a chòir; to the presence, near, implying motion.

Do dhìth, a dhìth, Dh' easbhuidh; for want.

Dh' fhios; to the knowledge, to.

Dh' ionnsuidh; to the approach, or onset, toward.

Do réir, a réir; according to.

Do thaobh, a thaobh; on the side, with respect, concerning.

Fa chùis; by reason, because.

Fa chomhair; opposite.

Mu choinnimh; opposite, over against.

Mu thimchoill, timchioll; by the circuit, around.

O bharr, bharr; from the top, off.

Os ceann; on the top, above, atop.

Ré; duration, during.

Trid; through, by means.

The use of the proper Prepositions has been already shown in the composition of adverbial phrases, and of the improper Prepositions. The following examples show the further use of them in connection with Nouns and Verbs, and in some idiomatic expressions which do not always admit of being literally rendered in English.

Ag, aig.

At: aig an dorus, at the door; aig an tigh, at the house, at home.

By reason of: aig ro mheud aighir 's a shòlais, by reason of his great joy and satisfaction, Smith's Seann dàna, p. 9; ag meud a mhiann through intense desire, Psal. lxxxiv. 2, metr. vers.; ag lionmhoireachd, Psal. xl. 5.

Signifying possession: tha tuill aig na sionnaich, the foxes have holes; bha aig duine araidh dithis mhac, a certain man had two sons; cha n'eil fhios agam, I have not the knowledge of it, I do not know it.

Chaidh agam air, I have prevailed over him, Psal. xiii. 4, metr. vers.

Joined to the Infinitive of Verbs: ag imeachd, a-walking, walking.

Air.

On, upon: air an làr, on the ground; air an là sin, on that day; air an adhbhar sin, on that account, for that reason.

Denoting an oath: air m' fhocal, upon my word; air làimh d' athar 's do sheanathar, by the hand of your father and grandfather.

Tha eagal, mulad, sgìos, ocras, &c., air, he is afraid, sad, fatigued, hungry, &c.

Thig mo bheul air do cheartas, is air do chliù, my mouth shall speak of thy justice and thy praise, Psal. xxxv. 28. metr.; thig mo bheul air gliocas, my mouth shall speak of wisdom, Psal. xlix. 3, metr. v.; sin cùis air am bheil mi nis a' teachd, that is the matter of which I am now to treat.

Tog ort, rouse thyself, bestir thyself, Psal lxxiv. 22, metr. v.

Chaidh agam air, I prevailed over him, Psal. xiii. 4.; metr.; 'S ann ormsa chaidh, it was I that was worsted.

Thug e am monadh air, he betook himself to the mountain.

In respect of: cha 'n fhaca mi an samhuil air olcas, I never saw their like for badness, Gen. xli. 19; air a lughad, however small it be.

Joined with, accompanied by: mòran iarruinn air bheag faobhar, much iron with little edge, M^cIntyre's Songs. Oidhche bha mi 'n a theach, air mhòran bìdh 's air bheagan eudaich, I was a night in his house, with plenty of food, but scanty clothing; air leth laimh, having but one hand.

Denoting measure or dimension: dà throidh air àirde, two feet in height.

Olc air mhath leat e, whether you take it well or ill.

Ann, ann an, anns.

In.: Anns an tigh, in the house; anns an oidhche, in the night; ann an dòchas, in hope; anns a' bharail sin, of that opinion.

Marking emphasis: is ann air eigin a thàr e as, it was with difficulty he got off; an àite seasamh is ann a theich iad, instead of standing (keeping their ground) they fled; nach freagair thu? fhreagair mi ann, will you not answer? I have answered.

As.

Out of: as an dúthaich, out of the country.

Denoting extinction: tha an solus, no an teine, air dol as, the light, or the fire, is gone out.

As an alt, out of joint; as a' ghualainn, as a' chruachainn, as an uilinn, &c., dislocated in the shoulder, hip, elbow-joint.

Chaidh e as, he escaped.

Cuir as da, destroy him, or it.

Chaidh as da, he is perished, undone.

Thug e na buinn as, he scampered off.

Dubh as, blot out.

De.

Of: Armailt mhòr de dhaoinibh agus a dh' eachaibh, a great army of men and horses.

Off: Bha na geugan air an sgathadh dheth, the branches were lopped off; thug iad an ceann deth, they beheaded him.

Dh' aon rùn, with one consent, with one purpose; dh' aon bharail, with one mind, judgment.

A là agus a dh' oidhche, i.e., de là agus de oidhche, by day and by night. Lat. de nocte, Hor.

Saidhbhreas mór d'a mheud, riches however great. Psal. cxix. 14, metr.

Do.

To: Tabhair dhomh, give to me, give me; thug sinn a bos mìn do Dhearg, we gave her soft hand to Dargo.

Dh' eirich sud dha gu h-obann, that befell him suddenly. Mar sin duinne gu latha, so it fared with us till day, so we passed the night; ma 's olc dhomh, cha n-fhearr dhoibh, if it goes ill with me, they fare no better.

Latha dhomhsa siubhal bheann, one day as I travelled the hills; latha dhuinn air machair Alba, one day when we were in the lowlands of Scotland; on Scotia's plains.

Eadar.

Between: eadar an dorus agus an ursainn, between the door and the post.

Dh' eirich eadar mi agus mo choimhearsnach, a quarrel arose betwixt me and my neighbour.

Eadar mhòr agus bheag, both great and small, Psal. xlix. 2, metr.; Rev. xix. 5, eadar bhochd agus nochd, both the poor and the naked.

Fa.

Upon: Fa 'n bhòrd, upon the board; leigeadar fa làr, was dropped on the ground, omitted, neglected. Carswel. Fa 'n adhbhar ud, on that account; creud fa 'n abradh iad? wherefore should they say?

Fa sheachd, seven times, Psal. vii. 6, metr.; fa cheud, a hundred times, Psal. lxii. 9, metr.

Fuidh, fo.

Under: Fuidh 'n bhòrd, under the board; fuidh bhlàth in blossom; tha an t-arbhar fo dhéis, the corn is in the ear; fuidh smuairean, under concern; fo ghruaim, gloomy; fo mhi-ghean, in bad humour; fuidh mhi-chliu, under bad report.

Denoting intention or purpose: air bhi fuidhe, it being his purpose, Acts xx. 7; tha tighinn fodham, it is my intention or inclination.

Gu, Gus.

To: O thigh gu tigh, from house to house; gu crìch mo shaoghail fein, to the end of my life; gus an crion gu luaithre a' chlach, until the stone shall crumble to dust. Sm. Seann dàna.

A' bhliadhna gus an àm so, this time twelvemonth, a year ago; a sheachduin gus an dé, yesterday se'ennight.

Mile gu leth, a mile and a half; bliadhna gu leth, a year and a half.

Gun.

Without: Gun amharus, without doubt; gun bhrogan, without shoes; gun fhios, without knowledge, unwittingly; gun fhios nach faic thu e, in case you may see him, if perhaps you may see him; gun fhios am faic thu e, if perhaps you may not see him. Gun chomas aig air, without his being able to prevent it, or avoid it; involuntarily. Gniomh gun chomain, an unmerited, or unprovoked deed. Dh' àithn e dha gun sin a dheanamh, he ordered him not to do that. Fhuair iad rabhadh gun iad a philltinn, they were warned not to return.

Iar.

After: Iar sin, after that; iar leughadh an t-Soisgeil, after the reading of the Gospel; iar tuiteam sios da aig a chosaibh, having fallen down at his feet; bha mi iar mo mhealladh, I was received.

Le, leis.

With: Chaidh mi leis a' chuideachd mhòir, I went with the multitude.

Denoting the instrument: mharbh e Eoin leis a' chlaidheamh, he killed John with the sword.

Denoting the agent: thomhaiseadh le Diarmid an torc, the boar was measured by Diarmid.

Denoting possession: is le Donull an leabhar, the book is Donald's; cha leis e, it is not his.

Denoting opinion or feeling: is fada leam an là gu h-oidhche, I think the day long, or tedious, till night come; is cruaidh leam do chor, I think your case a hard one; is dòcha leam, I think it probable; is doilich leam, I am sorry; is aithreach leis, he repents.

Along: leis an t-sruth along the stream; leis an leathad, down the declivity.

Leig leam, let me alone; leig leis, let him alone.

Mu.

About: ag iadhadh mu a cheann, winding about his head; labhair e mu Iudas, he spoke about Judas; nuair smachduichear duine leat mu 'lochd, when thou correctest a man for his sin, Psal. xxxix. 11, metr.; sud am fàth mu'n goir a' chorr, that is the reason of the heron's cry. Seann dàna. Sud fàth mu 'n guidheann ort na naoimh, for this reason will the saints make supplication to Thee.

O.

From: O bhaile gu baile, from town to town; o mhadainn gu feasgar, from morning to evening; o 'n là thainig mi dhachaidh, from the day that I came home; o 'n là, is often abridged into la; as, la thainig mi dhachaidh, since I came home.

Since, because: thugamaid uil' oirnn a' bhanais, o fhuair sinn cuireadh dhol ann, let us all to the wedding, since we have been bidden to it.

Denoting want in opposition to possession, denoted by aig: na tha uainn 's a b' fheairrd sinn againn, what we want and should be the better for having.

Implying desire: ciod tha uait? what would you have? Tha claidheamh uam, I want a sword.

Os.

Above: Mar togam os m' uil' aoibhneas àrd cathair Ierusaleim, if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy, Psal. cxxxvii. 6, metr.; os mo cheann, above me, over me.

Ri, ris.

To: cosmhuil ri mac righ, like to the son of a king; chuir iad teine ris an tigh, they set fire to the house.

Maille ri, together with.

Laimh ris a' bhalla, nigh to the wall.

Ri là gaoithe, on a day of wind; ri fad mo ré 's mo là, during all the days of my life; ri lìnn Righ Uilliam, in the reign of King William.

Na bi rium, don't molest me.

Feuch ris, try it.

Cuir ris, ply your work, exert yourself; cuirear na nithe so ribh, these things shall be added unto you, Matt. vi. 33. Tha an Spiorad ag cur ruinn na saorsa, the Spirit applieth to us the redemption, Assemb. Sh. Catech.

Exposed: tha an craicionn ris, the skin is exposed, or bare; leig ris, expose or make manifest.

Roimh.

Before: roimh 'n charbad, before the chariot; roimh 'n chamhair, before the dawn; roimh na h-uile nithibh, before, in preference to, all things; chuir mi romham, I set before me, purposed, intended.

Imich romhad, go forward; dh' fhalbh e roimhe, he went his way, he went off.

Seach.

Past: chaidh e seach an dorus, he passed by the door.

In comparison with: is trom a' chlach seach a' chlòineag, the stone is heavy compared with the down.

Tar, thar.

Over, across: chaidh e thar an amhainn, thar a' mhonadh, he went over the river, over the mountain; tha sin thar m' eolas, thar mo bheachd, &c., that is beyond my knowledge, beyond my comprehension, &c.

Tre, troimh, throimh.

Through: tre uisge is tre theine, through water and through fire.

Of Inseparable Prepositions.

The following initial syllables, used only in composition, are prefixed to nouns, adjectives, or verbs, to modify or alter their signification:—

An, ain, intensitive, denoting an immoderate degree, or faulty excess; as, tighearnas dominion, aintighearnas tyranny; tromaich to make heavy, antromaich to make very heavy, to aggravate; teas heat, ainteas excessive heat; miann desire, ainmhiann inordinate desire, lust.

Ais, ath, again, back; as, eirigh rising, aiseirigh resurrection; beachd view, ath-bheachd retrospect; fàs growth, ath-fhàs after-growth.

Bith, continually; as, bithdheanamh doing continually, busy; am bithdheantas incessantly.

Co, com, comh, con, together, equally, mutually; as, gleacadh fighting, co-ghleacadh fighting together; lion to fill, colion to fulfil, accomplish; ith to eat, comith eating together; radh saying, comhradh conversation, speech; trom weight, cothrom equal weight, equity; aois age, comhaois a contemporary.

Im, about, round, entire; as, làn full, iomlan quite complete; gaoth wind, iomghaoth a whirlwind; slainte health, iom-shlainte perfect health.

In, or ion, worthy: as, ion-mholta worthy to be praised: ion-roghnuidh worthy to be chosen, Psal. xxv. 12, metr. vers.

So, easily, gently: as, faicsin seeing, so-fhaicsin easily seen; sion weather, soinion [so-shion] calm weather; sgeul a tale, soisgeul a good tale, gospel.

Do, with difficulty, evil; as, tuigsin understanding, do-thuigsin difficult to be understood; doinion stormy weather; beart deed, exploit. do-bheart evil deed.