# 5.3.2 Creating new Gaelic words

The following five examples show the different approaches that are used in creating new words in Gaelic to meet changing needs.

## Table 1 1

English term | Gaelic term | Origin/Method
--- | --- | ---
triangle | triantan | Gaelic ‘trian’ – a third part or something made of three parts. This is an example of a well-established Gaelic word having been adapted for a new use.
geography | cruinn-eòlas | Based on the Gaelic ‘cruinne’ (world) and ‘eòlas’ (knowledge) (‘-eòlas’ is also used as the equivalent of ‘-ology’). This is an example of a concept being ‘defined’ in Gaelic.
television | telebhisean | Many Gaelic words have Greek or Latin roots, filtered though English. Often these are international terms.
rectangle | ceart-cheàrnach | This is made up of ‘ceart’ (the Gaelic for ‘right’) and ‘ceàrn’ (the Gaelic for ‘angle’). This is a translation of the Latin-derived ‘rectangle’ and so is referred to as a ‘loan translation’. The meaning is clearer than ‘rectangle’ since the word is made up of Gaelic rather than Latin elements.
credit crunch | staing creideis | ‘Staing’ (crisis) + ‘creideas’. The Gaelic word ‘creideas’ (originally ‘credibility’) has been ‘stretched’ to match English ‘credit’ (as in ‘credit card’): this is referred to as a ‘loan shift’.

Now that you have read about the origin of these words, listen to how they are pronounced.

triantan

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cruinn-eòlas

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telebhisean

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ceart-cheàrnach

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staing creideis

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OpenLearn - Gaelic in modern Scotland
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