Huh? That’s a weird name!
October 22, 2007
Sometimes people in Holland are a bit confused about our address. They generally can’t get their head around the fact that we live in a place where there are are no street names. Just a house number and the name of the village.
In Holland, no matter how small your village, there’s always a house number, a named street and a village, town or city name in your address. But, we’re not in Holland, so… easy enough!
Then what means “Skinidin”? If there is at all a meaning to the name… I decided to check the famous Google search engine for further clues to its meaning. I found a couple of interesting references to “Skinidin” on the internet:
Skinidin, meaning bleached dun, lies on the shores of Loch Dunvegan on the road from Dunvegan through to Glendale. Historically it is believed that there were three duns, or forts, in the area built to protect the peninsular.
From: Edinbane Self Catering
Skinidin (Skye), Sgianaidean.Norse name. The meaning of this name which is a plural is unclear, but may derive from Norse skjóna, “dappled horse”. Sgianailt in Lewis is “rough hill ground of the dappled horses”, and this may be related. Shirrabeg (Inverness), Siorrath Beag. “Little Shirra”, an unclear name which may contain ràth, “circular fort”. Shirramore (Inverness), Siorrath Mór.
From: PDF document posted on The Scottish Parliament
SKINIDIN The dun of the withered grass.
From: Welcome To My Scotland
By the way: note the difference in spelling in Gaelic according to the document from The Scottish Parliament as “Sgianaidean” and the officlal roadsign “Sgianaidin”!
Apparently a number of options here, with no unanimous explanation although all of them seem to refer to a fort-like construction which used to be here in days gone by. Today, in our modern times, there are no obvious remains as to where the fortresses or the duns were located. It could be that they were there to defend from attacks from the north (i.e. from the Nors) or to defend from attacks from the south (maybe attacks from other clans).
Comments
Got something to say?
-
Latest music...
Hair (1968, Original Broadway recording). Some naughty lyrics for that time!!
An Rathad a Bhatarsaigh, by the Vatersay Boys