cennbarr
, cenn + barr.
Searchable Lemmata: cenbarr (Ir).
Alternate Forms: cenbair, cenbar, cenbarraib, ceanbur.
Definitions and Defining Citations:
1(n.)
Headgear;
a headdress or cap, especially for women.(post 900 - post 1450 ?)
Sex: Female Ceremonial: No
Body Parts: Head.
Etymological Evidence:
Definite, Irish cenn 'head' + barr (q.v.) 'top', but also itself 'headgear, diadem'. Primarily seems to be used of a woman's headgear, as in the Middle Irish legal gloss (present citation 1) listing the cennbarr along with the caille (q.v.), and citation 3, equating it with a cuphia (see coif).
WF: Compound
Etym Cog: barr, caille, celbarr.
References:
Archaeological Evidence:
For a discussion of the archaeology of headgear and the Irish textual context, see Heckett (2003), esp. 44-55.
