Gillie
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2008-07-08T10:30:25Z
Mike Cline
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{{for|Gallic dancing shoes|Ghillies (dance)}}
{{for|military camouflage|Ghillie suit}}
{{wiktionarypar2|ghillie|gillie}}
'''''Ghillie''''' or '''''gillie''''' is a [[Scottish dialect]] term that refers to a man or a boy who acts as an attendant on a [[fishing]], [[fly fishing]] or a [[hunting]] or [[deer stalking]] expedition, primarily in [[Scotland]] in the [[Scottish Highlands|Highlands]] or on a river such as the [[Spey River]]. In origin it referred especially to someone who attended on his employer or guests.
A ghillie may also serve as a [[gamekeeper]] employed by a landowner to prevent [[poaching]] on his lands, control unwelcome natural predators such as [[fox]] or [[otter]] and monitor the health of the [[Game_%28food%29|wildlife]].
==Etymology==
The origin of this word dates from the late [[16th century]], from the [[Scottish Gaelic]] ''gille'', "lad, servant", cognate with the [[Irish language|Irish]] ''gile'' or ''gi-olla''.
Historically, the term was used for a [[Scottish Highlands|Highland]] chief's attendant, also sometimes called a [[Gallowglass]] if he was also a soldier or guard, but this use became rare before the 20th century.
A '''gilhie-wetfoot''', a term now obsolete (a translation of gillie-casfiiuc/s, from the Gaelic ''cas'' foot and ''fliuch'' wet), was the gillie whose duty it was to carry his master over streams. It became a term of contempt among the [[Scottish lowlands|Lowlanders]] for the 'tail' (as his attendants were called) of a Highland chief.
==See also==
* [[Gamekeeper]]
* [[Ghillie Dhu]], a Scottish mythological figure whose name means Dark Servant
* [[John Brown (servant)|John Brown]]
==References==
* {{1911}}
[[Category:Personal care and service occupations]]
[[Category:Scottish Gaelic language]]
[[Category:Scottish country dance]]
[[fr:Ghillie]]