caille
.
Searchable Lemmata: caille (Ir).
Alternate Forms: caillech, cailli, caillig, calla, chaillech, chailli.
Definitions and Defining Citations:
1(n.)
Garment;
a veil, including baptismal veil. Heckett (2003), 54.(ante 700 still in current use)
1. IS ann ro raidh espoc Mel: 'Tair, a noem Brigit, co ro sentar caille for do chenn riasna h-oghuibh aili'.
Biblical/Hagiographic.
[eDIL Lism. L (1344-5)]
2. Neir ro batar ann .i. naemh-ogha craibhdecha ro ghabhsat caille fo láimh Senáin
Biblical/Hagiographic.
[eDIL Lism. L (2479-80)]
Sex: Male, Female Ceremonial: No
Body Parts:
2(n.) ;
in the derived term caillech: originally an adjective meaning 'veiled', almost always used as a substantive meaning 'veiled one', i.e. a nun or similar female religious, or sometimes a widow or older woman in mourning. From this latter sense the word evolved the meaning 'hag, old crone'.(ante 900 still in current use)
Sex: Female Ceremonial: No
Body Parts:
Etymological Evidence:
Definite, an early borrowing into Irish of Latin pallium (q.v.), showing substitution of c- (earlier *kw-), since Irish did not possess the /p/ phoneme at that stage (compare Irish Cásc for Latin Pascha 'Easter').
WF: Borrowed into the British Isles
Etym Cog: pallium (L).
References:
