Beirbhe

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

• a' Bhoirbhe, a' Bheirbh, a' Bhoirbh

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse Bjǫrgvin.

Proper noun

a' Bheirbhe f (genitive na Beirbhe)

1. (rare) Bergen (a port city, municipality, and former county of the county of Vestland, Norway, formerly part of the county of Hordaland)
   • 1861, Donald MacPhie, “Mànus”, in J[ohn] F[rancis] Campbell, transl., Popular Tales of the West Highlands: Orally Collected, volume III, Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, page 388:

     Dh'fhalbh esan air ais gus an t-seana Bheirbhe leis fhein gu dubhach, deurach bronach; 's bha 'n t-anmoch ann.

     He went back to the old Bergen by himself, gloomy, tearful, sorrowful, and it was late.