The River Lossie ( gd, Uisge Losaidh) is a river in north east
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. The river originates in the hills above
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, in
Moray
Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.
Between 1975 ...
, and has its source above sea-level. It enters the sea at
Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth ( gd, Inbhir Losaidh) is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over ...
on the
Moray Firth
The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...
. By the time it moves through
Elgin its rate of flow, in normal conditions, is best described as very slow. The gradient between Elgin and Lossiemouth is almost imperceptible with a total fall of less than .
Name and etymology
The hydronym ''Lossie'' was recorded either as ''Loscyn'' or ''Lostyn'' in 1189, and may be of
Pictish
Pictish is the extinct language, extinct Brittonic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited num ...
origin.
The ending ''-yn'' represents ''-in'', a Pictish form of the
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
suffix ''yn''. The first element may be a cognate either of Welsh ''llost'' meaning "tail, spear", or ''llosg'' meaning "burning".
The Lossie has been identified with the ''Loksa'' recorded by
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
,
although
River Findhorn
The River Findhorn (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Fionn Èireann) is one of the longest rivers in Scotland. Located in the north east, it flows into the Moray Firth on the north coast. It has one of the largest non-firth estuaries in Scotland.
The riv ...
is a more likely candidate for such identification.
Settlements
(from south to north)
*
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
*
Kellas
*
Paddockhaugh
*
Pittendreich
*
Elgin
*
Calcots
*
Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth ( gd, Inbhir Losaidh) is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over ...
(
East Beach Bridge
The East Beach Bridge is a footbridge which crosses the River Lossie and connects Lossiemouth to the East Beach. The present bridge was opened in 2022 and replaced an older structure.
History
The bridge was closed in July 2019 after an inspecti ...
)
References
Lossie
0Lossie
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