(le Róislín)

This blogpost will be the last in this mini-series (mionsraith), but there could be much more, since the article we’re glossing, “Saoirí Samhraidh,” le Liam Ó Muirthile (An Peann Coitianta), is so rich with idiomatically written Irish.  As with the previous posts in this series, we’ll start with a little “súil siar” (review, lit. “an eye back”).  Then we’ll proceed with three final words: cianóg, athshondas, and lobhaigh (which has additional forms such as “Lobh!” and “lofa”).

First, as a reminder, we started this gluais after looking at four forms of the word “summer” as they were used in the article “Saoirí Samhraidh.”  This article caught my attention because it used four of the nine possible forms of the word I identified in a previous post (nasc thíos).  An cuimhin leat foirmeacha an fhocail?  Freagraí thíos:

the summer = ______________

of summer = _______________

of the summer = ____________

summers = _________________

Now, a look back at some of the other words and phrases highlighted in this series.  An cuimhin leat an Béarla atá orthu?  Tá aistriúcháin thíos.  Seo iad: glamanna, fearaíocht, ag guailleáil, buíonta ban, leagadh (leagan), duileasc, faochain, á ndíol, bé (ba é), rac-cheol, i bhfios nó i ngan fhios di féin.

That list actually includes a few words that aren’t literally “keywords” for this series, so the total number of words glossed is actually more than ten.  But “ten” makes a nice round number for a blog title, doesn’t it, rather than, say, “thirteen”?

And finally, na trí fhocal/fhrása dheireanacha:

8) cianóg in the phrase “dhá thaobh den chianóg chéanna” (two sides of the same coin).  The general word for “coin” is “bonn,” which also means “a medal,” and which is a separate word from the other “bonn” (sole of the foot, foothold, tire or tyre, if you prefer, etc.).  But a “cianóg” is a “small coin,” and btw, it’s a nice cognate of the Welsh “ceiniog,” although the meaning there is “penny” or “pence.”   Cianóg could also be translated as “mite” in the phrase “cianóg na baintrí” (the widow’s mite, lit, the mite of the ‘baintreach‘ or widow).   

9) athsondas [sic], resonance, literally a “second” (ath-) “sonorousness” (sondas), used when Ó Muirthile is posing the question “Cá raibh an clog i Ringabella?” “Ringabella is a place name coming from “Rinn a’ Bhile,” which literally means, the point/headland/promontory of the sacred tree, nothing to do with cloganna).  Litriú eile: athshondas.

And finally,

10) Lobhaigh, as in “Lobhaigh an carabhán le meirg ….”  Normally “lobhaigh” would mean “rotted” but since we have “le meirg” (with rust), it’s more like “The caravan rusted (out/completely) … .”  The command form of this verb is “Lobh!” (Rot!) although I can hardly imagine how this form might be used, unless there’s a garda priosúin in some 19th-century novel shoving an innocent prisoner in a dark, damp, dismal dungeon, and saying “Luigh ansin agus lobh!”  That assumes that said novel was actually written in Irish, a discussion of the likelihood of which might be a blagmhír unto itself.  Or, actually, maybe something like that could come up, in a contemporary context, in “Doinsiúin agus Dragain.”

One could also say, “Mheirgigh sé,” which is more literally, “It rusted.”  Or “Tháinig meirg air” (Rust came on it).

In my experience, the word “lobh” is more common as “lofa” (rotten), as in “ubh lofa” (a rotten egg).  “Pee-yoo!” (or “pew” if you prefer the main OED spelling  — boladh an tsulfair a bhíonns ag uibheacha lofa!  “Lofa” can also be used more abstractly, as in “iasacht lofa” (a rotten loan).

Well, that’s the tenth of ten.  Hopefully you found them interesting, and for intermediate-level learners, at least some of them may have been nua, or, if nothing else,  used a little differently than expected.

By the way, for anyone who has especially enjoyed this vocabulary review, I’d heartily recommend one (or all!) of Ó Muirthile’s published collections (Rogha Alt, srl., nasc thíos) and an interesting article by Mícheál Ó hAodha in English about Ó Muirthile’s work (nasc thíos).  SGF — Róislín

Naisc (Ó Muirthile agus Ó hAodha): 

alt Uí Mhuirthile san Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/2.663/saoiri-samhraidh-1.1091985 (14 Lúnasa 2002)

leabhartha le Liam Ó Muirthile: Rogha Alt (1989-2003), Cois Life, 2014; http://www.coislife.ie/leabhar/153/rogha-alt . Tá cnuasaigh eile aige ach tá siad as cló: Ar an bPeann, Cois Life, 2006; An Peann Coitianta 2 (1992-1997), Cois Life, 1997, agus An Peann Coitianta, Comhar, 1991.  Tá i bhfad níos mó foilsithe aige (úrscéalta, dánta, srl.) ach is iad seo na cinn a bhaineanns leis an alt seo. 

alt le Mícheál Ó hAodha faoi scríbhneoireacht Uí Mhuirthile: http://www.coislife.ie/leabhar/153/rogha-alt (from Books Ireland, Eanáir/Feabhra, 2015 Iriseoireacht as Gaeilge)

na blaganna roimhe seo sa tsraith seo:

Samplaí an fhocail ‘samhradh’ in alt le Liam Ó Muirthile san Irish Times Posted by róislín on Jul 22, 2016 in Irish Language

Deich bhFrása Shuimiúla as Alt Uí Mhuirthile (‘Saoirí Samhraidh’ san Irish Times), Cuid 1 Posted by róislín on Jul 25, 2016 in Irish Language

Deich bhFrása Shuimiúla as Alt Uí Mhuirthile (‘Saoirí Samhraidh’ san Irish Times), Cuid 2 Posted by róislín on Jul 28, 2016 in Irish Language

Deich bhFrása Shuimiúla as Alt Uí Mhuirthile (‘Saoirí Samhraidh’ san Irish Times), Cuid 3 Posted by róislín on Jul 31, 2016 in Irish Language

Freagraí: the summer = an samhradh; of summer = samhraidh; of the summer = an tsamhraidh; summers = samhraí

Súil Siar: glamanna, howls (n); fearaíocht, macho-ing (as it were), ag guailleáil, shouldering, sauntering, swaggering; buíonta ban, bands/”bevies” of women; leagadh (leagan), knocking down; duileasc, dulse (type of seaweed); faochain, winkles; á ndíol, (them) being sold; bé (ba é), it was; rac-cheol, rock music; i bhfios nó i ngan fhios di, whether or not she knew it, lit. in knowledge or not in (“in without”) knowledge to her