Archive for 'Irish Language'
An Cháisc (Easter) is a Cognate of … Pascha and Pesach Posted by róislín on Apr 12, 2009
(le Róislín) It may seem straightforward enough that Pascha (Latin for Easter) and Pesach (Passover) are linguistically related to each other. Several of the other Celtic words for Easter are also clearly connected, Y Pasg (Welsh), Pask (Cornish, Breton), as are the English adjective, Paschal, and the Romance words, Pâques, Pascua, and Pasqua. Their connection…
Mór? Críonna? or Sean? — Grandparents By Any Other Name! Posted by róislín on Apr 9, 2009
(le Róislín) I frequently get asked about the Irish word for “grandmother” or “grandma,” so children in Irish-American families can start using it as a pet name. Sometimes the basic term “Grandma” has already been taken by one side of the family, so the other side may look for a different name, like “Nana” in…
Clever, “Cute,” Smart, Intelligent, Wise, and/or Cunning – as Gaeilge! Posted by róislín on Apr 6, 2009
(le Róislín) We’ve recently discussed fools in general in the April 1st and 3rd blogs. We’ve differentiated amadáin from óinseacha and worked gámaithe, gamail, gamalóga, agus gamaraill into the mix. Now lets segue to “wise fools” and then to various terms for being clever, “cute,” smart, intelligent, wise and/or cunning. Wise fools, first. …
Na hAmadáin (ar leanúint) – The Fools (continued) Posted by róislín on Apr 3, 2009
(le Róislín) By now you might be wondering, so what is the Irish word for a female fool? You might have encountered it already, if you’ve read Charles Kickham’s 1879 novel, Knocknagow, which uses an anglicized form of the word, “oonshugh.” English-medium Irish literature of that vintage tends to be full of Irish words, but…
Lá na nAmadán – The Day of the Fools (April 1) Posted by róislín on Apr 1, 2009
(le Róislín) As promised in the blog of an t-aonú lá is fiche de mhí an Mhárta (March 21st), we will honor Lá na nAmadán with an assortment of terms for fools. Be advised – it may take more than one blog to get through this! The most widely used term is “amadán,” although in…
Sraothartach (Sneezing), Smaoisíl (Sniffling), and Srannadh (Snoring) Posted by róislín on Mar 30, 2009
(le Róislín) As promised, we’ll address sneezing and related phenomena in today’s blog. You might have already anticipated that some more beannachtaí (blessings) and wishes for good health will be involved, just as they are with English (bless you, Gesundheit). Sraoth is a sneeze. In Irish, it’s not so customary to use a verb that…
Beannachtaí i nGaeilge a Trí – Or How to Reply to a Greeting in Irish Posted by róislín on Mar 27, 2009
(le Róislín) Beannachtaí i nGaeilge (Cuid a Trí) – Or How to Reply to a Greeting in Irish After two full blogs worth of information, we can finally say, “hello” in Irish. And now, how to reply! Here we’ll be keeping track of singular and plural, as noted in the previous blogposts, but for the traditional…