fillibeg

[OC Richard]

Strange that they didn't give the Gaelic spelling.

My Websters has:

fil.i.beg n. [Gael. feileadh beag < feileadh, a fold + beag, little] a kilt

No picture though.

Note the one "l" versus two.

Strange that these English spellings use a "g" as the final letter, because Scots Gaelic has devoiced medial and final stops, so that the final sound is "k".

The pronunciation would be more like fell-yuh-bek.

I wonder if this word was borrowed into English before this devoicing developed?

I find it interesting how early this term is used, for example the disarming act of 1746 specifically bans "the Philebeg or little Kilt".