faoighe

sf ind Asking for aid in shape of corn, wool and sometimes cattle, a custom once very common. 2 Gift. 3 Generosity. Chan fhaoighe e, it is not a thigging; faoighe eòrna, barley thigging; faoighe chruidh, cattle thigging; faoighe do MhacGriogair, is leig leis fhéin a togail, give a gift to a MacGregor and let him help himself to it —i.e. he will not be bashful in doing so; faoighe fir gun chaoraich, the generosity of a man who has nothing to give; air faoighe nam bannag, going about begging for bannocks; chan e rogha nam muc a gheibh fear na faoighe, it, is not the pick of the swine that the beggar gets. [NGP says “The practice of going 'air faoighe' was common in the Highlands and was also known in the Lowlands of Scotland. In the 'good old times' when dearth was as common as a bad season, it was not considered degrading for respectable people to go foraging among their friends for grain, wool, &c. This kind of begging was also practised by or for young couples about to marry or newly married, to help them in setting up house. The custom is now (1880), I think, obsolete. It was still partially practised in 1830.”]

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