KNOCKNIDE HILL

Place-name:Knocknide Hill
Suggested Meaning:hill of the nests
First elementGaelic cnoc ‘hill’
Second elementGaelic nead, nid ‘nests’
Blaeu Coila (1654):N/A
OS Name Books (1855-57):Knocknide Hill
Location:Ordnance Survey (1898)

Knocknide Hill

Gaelic cnoc ‘hill’ Gaelic nid ‘nests’

The Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) entry for Knocknide Hill reads -.

An eminence at the north end of Connel Burn Rigg –

Map 1: OS Map (1855) Knocknide| Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

The Place-Names section of The Hereditary Sheriffs of Galloway [1] includes the following entry –

a nest (nead) in Knockaneed (Stoneykirk) and Knocknidi* (Cumnock)

* typographical error, should read Knocknide.

Sir Herbert Maxwell in The Place-Names of Galloway includes the following entry for Knockaneed in Stoneykirk [2] –

KNOCKANEED. ‘Stoneykirk.’ Cnoc an nid [need], hill of the nest. Gen. of nead.

Knocknide in New Cumnock is Gaelic cnoc ‘hill’ [3] and Gaelic nid nests [4] and perhaps it is no coincidence that it sits adjacent to Blarene Hill Gaelic blair eoin ‘plain of the birds’ [5].

Knocknide Hill from near Laglaff (Robert Guthrie 2010)

Map 2: OS Map (195) Knocknide Hill & Blarene Hill| Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

Footnote: The OS Map 25-inch (1856)

References
[1] Sir Andrew Agnew The Hereditary Sheriffs of Galloway (1893), p151 | Knocknide
[2] Sir Herbert Maxwell ‘The Place-Names of Galloway (1930, 2001 Edition) | Knockaneed
[3] Edward Dwelly , Illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary (1902-11, Birlinn Ed.n2001) | cnoc
[4] Edward Dwelly , Illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary (1902-11, Birlinn Ed. 2001) nead, nid
[5] New Cumnock Place-Name | Blarene Hill
Maps
Reproduced with the Permission of National Library of Scotland
https://maps.nls.uk/
Images used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence.
Map 1: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1843-1882 (1857) | Knocknide Hill
Map 2: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960 (1894) | Knocknide Hill
Map 3: Ordnance Survey Maps – 25 inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1855-1882 (1856) | Knockside Hill
Ordnance Survey Name Books
By Permission of Scotland’s Places
scotlandsplaces.gov.uk
Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49|Knocknide Hill
Wigtownshire OS Name Books (1845-49) Vol. 56| Knockaneed