A chàirdean,

I was (again) going over the text from Longes mac nUsnig (the exile
of the sons of Uisneach)

Fogur tuinni toirm Noísi
ba ceol bind bithchloísi
coblach Arddain ropo maith
andord Andle dia uarbaith

Noìse's toirm was the sound of the waves
twas sweet music of eternal fame
Arddan's cobhlach twas good
Andle's andord from booths

and a Scottish word, 'blaodhaire', which I'd seen recently in a TV
script (a word we changed in the script because we had never heard it
used ourselves) popped back into my mind and got me thinking of the
following etymological possibility relating to the word 'coblach'.

'Toirm' is a word also traditionally used for the sound of harp
strings although in the above passage it appears to be a form
of 'ceol' (singing). The word is so similar to the verbal
noun 'toghairm' (summon) that it could almost be a contraction of
it. 'Toghairm' comes from 'to-' and 'gair' (cry out).

A bit fanciful but that got me thinking that 'coblach' might be a
contraction of 'com-bláedach'. 'Bláedach' is both an adjective and
feminine noun which ancient texts have used to describe the sounds of
trees struck by lightning, the river Barrow, animals of the sea and
demons respectively. The masculine root of this word 'blaodh'
(shout) and 'blaodhach' seem only to have survived in Scottish - and
in Welsh where 'bloedd' (shout) is feminine and 'bloeddiad' (shout)
is masculine. In Gaelic, 'glaodh' is the word which has a similar
sound and meaning and which is in use today.

The idea that we have two strings jointly-crying out on the Gaelic
harp is appropriate. This idea would unite in meaning all the
appearances of the word 'coblach' in ancient texts in a musical
context. Arddan is joining in with Noìse's singing. Horns are the
better for the joint-crying. It would also make sense of the word's
use in the relevant part of the Táin Bó Cuailgne in the Leabhar
Laighneach.

In that passage, Cu Chulainn is racing, possibly seated, in his green-
boothed two-horse chariot driven by his charioteer 'giolla' (lad),
Láeg. His enemy, Fer Diad, hears Cu Chulainn's chariot approaching.
In Leabhar Buidhe Leacain, the sound of the approach is represented
by a mere single phrase, 'culgairi in charpait', and apparently Cu
Chulainn is the 'seabac saer soighes a eocho' (noble hawk who whips
his horses).

However, in the Leabhar Laighneach, the description of sound of the
chariot's approach is a rather substantial cacophony of war and ends
by mentioning 'trommchoblach in churad & in chathmíled dochum inn
átha dá saigid' (the heavy coblach of the hero and battle-warrior
towards the ford to attack him).

'Trom' (heavy) in this context would be best translated as 'deep'
and 'trommchoblach' appears to be the last in a long line of words
referring to sounds. I imagine the 'deep coblach' here as describing
a deep, growling roar that joins with the cacophony of other sounds.

There are so many linguistic elements that 'coblach' could derive
from. This is another entertaining alternative to the 'coiblige'
(lying together) verbal noun interpretation published by Bunting.
It's not uncommon for the pronunciation of two final syllables in
Gaelic to be reduced to a single syllable. For example, the frequent
verbal noun ending '-achadh' has been reduced to '-ú' in Ireland. Is
it possible that a word such as 'cobhlaodhach' once existed and
mutated into 'cobhlach' or 'cobhlaigh' at a very early date?

Beannachdan,



Alasdair