مرج الذهب

gowdie haugh

a gatherin o Palestinian toponyms
newfangled intae th Scots leid
wi Sassenach translations
by eck finlay

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oan names

wir names un-name
aulder names

tae ane a placename’s aucht–
tae ithers it’s flemit

naematter whit ye ca it–
a laird’s a sheikh 
an a sheikh’s a laird

th herd’s names thole
eftir th yowe’s ir awa

whit ‘knowe’ an ‘ben’ signe isnae 
eeksie peeksie– it aa dependant,
is yir kintra muir, crag or scrochen?

maps mak and unmak hames

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wurdbuik

AIK, AKE: Scots, oak.
AUCHT: Scots, possession, ownership.
BERE: Scots, barley.
BUMMLE, BUMMIE:, Scots, bee, hum of a bee.
FLEMIT: Scots, exiled.
PEEL: Scots, small fortified or moated stone tower.
GANGREL: Scots, tramp, vagrant.
GLED: Scots, hawk
HAUGH: Scots, meadow.
JABAL: Arabic, mountain.
KHIRBAT: Arabic, ruins.
KINTRA: Scots, country.
KUMMLE, CUMMAL, KUML: mound, small piece of rising ground.
POW: Scots, head, crown, tip of a mountain-top.
RAS: Arabic, head, top, or promontory
SCROCHEN: Scots, shrink or shrivel with heat.
THOLE: Scots, endure, suffer.
TWINE: Scots, sunder, divide. Eng., wreathe.
TWIN: Old Eng., a doubled or twisted thread.
TWINNE: Scots, twin.
WADY, WADI: Arabic, valley ravine; riverbed that is dry except in the rainy season.
YOWE: Scots, female sheep.

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مرج الذهب

gowdie haugh

marj edh thahab
is the meadow of gold

الكومة أو القصب

kummle o rashes

koumeh or qasab
is the mound of reeds

وادي الأكواخ

th glen o shielin

wadi elawakh
is the valley of huts

القلعة المدمرة

th relik peel

khirbat al-karak
is the ruined castle

(32.717958°N 35.571864°E)

تل البلوط

aikey knowe

tal al ballout
is the hill of oaks

وادي أشجار الشوك

glen o tines

wady ashjar al-shouk
is the vale of thorn-trees

وادي الشعير

bereglen

wady esh sha’ir
is the valley of barley

طاحونة المتجول

gangrel’s miln

tahounet el mutajawel
is the mill of the wanderer

تلة الحمام

doos pow

talet ell hamam
is knoll, hill, or head of the pigeons

مرج البصل

sybies haugh

marj al-basal
is the meadow of onions

الجبل العظيم

muckle ben

al jabal likbir
is the great mountain

ربيع الصقر

gled spout

rabi’ alsaqr
is the spring of the falcons

جرف السائق

dryve-o crag

jarf elsaiq
is the cliff of the cattledrover

بئر النحل

bummles spout

bi’r elnahel
is the well of the bees

الشيخ المحظوظ

th sonsie laird

al sheikh elahthouth
is the lucky sheikh

بيت الفقير المدمر

th puirman’s boorach

khirbat fanis
is the ruined home of the pauper

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sources

The survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English name lists collected during the survey by CR Conder, 1840-1882, for Earl Kitchner and Edward Henry Palmer.

https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft/page/129/mode/1up

Dictionars o the Scots Leid, Dictionaries of the Scots Language.

With thanks to David Greig and Marina Barham