Note 269 — Chapter XV
Reading edition
One would like to regard tradition as infallible in this respect. But, unfortunately, the age of the "sheeans" is so far back, that the term may now be used to denote any "conical hill," by Gaelic-speaking persons. However, a strong and persistent local tradition would far outweigh this modern misuse of the term sithean, in its general application, if such misuse (of which the dictionaries give a hint) is really common.