Swilly

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A long sea inlet on the northwest coast of County Donegal in Ireland, known as Lough Swilly
2. The name of a deep sea lough on the northern coast of Ireland in County Donegal
3. A narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean cutting into the coastline of County Donegal in northwest Ireland

Etymology: Lough Swilly is a sea inlet on the north coast of County Donegal, and its name comes from Irish. The Irish form is "Loch Swilly," with "loch" meaning lake or, for a sea inlet like this, a sea lough. The second element is usually linked to "Súill," the Irish word for "eye" or "pool," which some accounts connect to the Irish "Suilidhe," a name associated with the area. The name was later anglicised, and the spelling "Swilly" reflects English attempts to render the Irish sound. Because the inlet is long and narrow, it has a sheltered, deep-water character that made it useful to shipping. Its name is therefore a case of an Irish geographical term being carried over into English map-making with only small changes in spelling. The exact original meaning of the second element remains uncertain, so readers should treat the "eye" connection as a plausible guess rather than settled fact.