brèideach
Scottish Gaelic
Etymology
From brèid (“patch, kerchief, woman's headdress”) + -each (noun suffix). Stems from the tradition of Highland women wearing a white linen kerchief after their wedding night; maidens wore the stiom, a headband, but were otherwise bareheaded until marriage.
Noun
brèideach f (genitive singular brèidich, plural brèidich)
- matron, married woman, wife