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The etymology of Skye attempts to understand the derivation of the name of the island of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Skye's history includes the influence of Gaelic, Norse and English speaking peoples and the relationships between their names for the island are not straightforward. The Gaelic name for the "Isle of Skye" is ''An t-Eilean Sgitheanach'' (or ''Sgiathanach'', a more recent and less common spelling). The meaning of this name is not clear.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Skye: A historical perspective )〕 Various etymologies have been proposed, such as the "winged isle" or "the notched isle"〔Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003) (''Placenames'' ). (pdf) Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 23 March 2007.〕 but no definitive solution has been found to date and the placename may be from a substratum language and simply opaque.〔Oftedal, M. (1956) ''The Gaelic of Leurbost''. Oslo. Norsk Tidskrift for Sprogvidenskap.〕 For example, writing in 1549, Donald Munro, High Dean of the Isles wrote: "This Ile is callit ''Ellan Skiannach'' in Irish, that is to say in Inglish the wyngit Ile, be reason it has mony wyngis and pointis lyand furth fra it, throw the dividing of thir foirsaid Lochis".〔Munro, D. (1818) ''Description of the Western Isles of Scotland called Hybrides, by Mr. Donald Munro, High Dean of the Isles, who travelled through most of them in the year 1549.'' Miscellanea Scotica, 2. Quoted in Murray (1966) p. 146. English translation from Lowland Scots: ''This isle is called ''Ellan Skiannach'' in Gaelic, that is to say in English, "The Winged Isle", by reason of its many wings and points that come from it, through dividing of the land by the aforesaid lochs''.〕 This was by no means the first written reference. Roman sources refer to the ''Scitis'' (see the Ravenna Cosmography)〔("Group 34: islands in the Irish Sea and the Western Isles 1" ) kmatthews.org.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2008.〕 and ''Scetis'' can be found on a map by Ptolemy.〔Strang, Alistair (1997) ''Explaining Ptolemy's Roman Britain''. Britannia. 28 pp. 1-30.〕 A possible derivation from '' *skitis'', an early Celtic word for "winged", which may describe the island's peninsulas that radiate out from a mountainous centre, has also been suggested. In the Norse sagas Skye is called ''Skíð'', for example in the Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar saga〔("Haakon Haakonsøns Saga" ) Norwegian translation by P. A. Munch. saganet.is. Retrieved 3 June 2008.〕 and a skaldic poem in the Heimskringla from c. 1230 which contains a line that translates as "the hunger battle-birds were filled in Skye with blood of foemen killed".〔"Magnus Barefoot's Saga". English translation: en.wikisource.org. Retrieved 4 June 2008.〕 According to other authors, it was referred to in Norse as ''skuy'' (misty isle),〔 *skýey or ''skuyö'' (isle of cloud).〔Murray (1966) ''The Hebrides''. p. 146.〕 It is not certain whether the Gaelic poetic name for the island, ''Eilean a' Cheò'' "isle of the mist" precedes or postdates the Norse name. Some legends also associate the isle with the mythic figure of Queen Scáthach.〔MacLeod, Fiona ("The Laughter of Scathach the Queen" ) (pdf) horrormasters.com. Retrieved 1 March 2008.〕 The problems with the proposed Gaelic etymologies can be summed up as follows. Firstly, the Gaelic word for "winged" is ''sgiathach'' and ''sgiathanach'' is not attested in Gaelic except in the place name and the ethnonym ''Sgiathanach'' "person from Skye". Secondly, the recorded pronunciations all point towards a clear () preceding the ''-ach'' ending: (:s̪kʲiəhanəx), , or .〔Borgstrøm, C. (1941) ''The Dialects of Skye and Ross-shire''. Oslo. Norwegian University Press.〕 This means the form ''Sgiathanach'' is very unlikely to be based on the Gaelic plural of "wing" (''sgiathan''), which contains a schwa in the last syllable (()) and would represent a highly unusual adjectival form based on a plural noun. Thirdly, the diminutive/nominaliser ending ''-an'' would result in (), with a clear () in the last syllable. This form ''sciathán'' or ''sgiathan'' is indeed attested in the modern Gaelic languages. The Old Irish attested form is ''scíath'' (cognate with modern Welsh ''ysgwydd'' "shoulder") with a reconstructed Celtic form '' *skeito-'', which suggests the Irish form ''sgiathán'' is an innovation and an unlikely root for ''Sgiathanach''.〔MacBain, A. (1911) ''An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language'' Stirling. Eneas MacKay. 1982 edition by Gairm ISBN 0-901771-68-6.〕 Finally, deriving the name from ''Scáthach'' involves two main problems: there would be a case of unexplained palatalisation of () to () and an unexplained extra element ''-an-''. The roots of the Roman and Greek forms, ''Scit-'' and ''Scet-'' (meaning unknown), could be the root of ''Sgitheanach'' as they would regularly develop into Old Gaelic () and be an entirely logical source for the attested Norse ''Skíð''. It would also lead to modern ''Sgitheanach'' via a regular suffigation of ''-an'' and ''-ach'' to form an ethnonym and adjective. This would also explain the use of an apparent root form in ''An Cuan Sgith(e)'' the Little Minch (the strait separating the Outer Hebrides from the Inner Hebrides) and the older Irish form of ''Scíth'' rather than the modern ''An tOileán Sgiathanach'', for example: ''Do ṡiuḃal sé Scíṫ agus an dá Uiḃeast agus Beinn a’ Ṁaola...'' "He travelled Skye and the two Uists and Benbecula...".〔Ó Caḋlaiġ, C. ''An Ḟiannuiḋeaċt'' Oifig an tSoláṫair 1937〕 In this case the interpretation of the name as "winged" may simply be a case of folk-etymology.〔For discussions of phonological development see Borgstrøm (1941), Oftedal, Magne (1956) ''The Gaelic of Leurbost''. Oslo. Norsk Tidskrift for Sprogvidenskap and McCone, Kim (ed) (1994) ''Stair na Gaeilge: In Ómós do Phádraig Ó Fiannachta''. Coláiste Phàdraig, Maigh Nuad. ISBN 0-901519-90-1.〕 In April 2007 it was reported in the media that the island's official name had been changed by the Highland Council to ''Eilean a' Cheò''. However, the Council clarified that this name referred only to one of its 22 wards in the then impending election, and that there were no plans to change signage or discontinue the English name.〔 ==References== 〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Etymology of Skye」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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