 The first written references to the island are Roman sources such as the <unk> <unk> , which refers to <unk> and <unk> , which can be found on a map by Ptolemy . One possible derivation comes from <unk> , an early Celtic word for winged , which may describe how the island 's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre . Subsequent <unk> , <unk> and English @-@ speaking peoples have influenced the history of Skye ; the relationships between their names for the island are not straightforward . Various etymologies have been proposed , such as the " winged isle " or " the notched isle " but no definitive solution has been found to date and the <unk> may be from an earlier , non @-@ Gaelic language . 
