(le Róislín)

Drúchtín ag ithe duilleog caisearbháin. An síleann drúchtíní go bhfuil blas searbh ar an gcaisearbhán? Nó an cuma leo faoin mblas? Is dócha nach bhfuil fadhb ar bith ag na drúchtíní maidir le hairíonna fualbhrostacha dhuilleoga an phlanda seo. Ní bhíonn leapacha ag drúchtíní agus ní dóigh liom go mbíonn mún (fual; “urine”) acu. Fiú dá mbeadh leapacha acu, ní dóigh liom go ndéanfadh sé difear dóibh an mbeadh an leaba fliuch nó tirim mar bíonn slam (“slime”) fúthu an chuid is mó den am (an t-am ar fad, a mhoilisceolaithe?), pé scéal é. Mar sin is cuma leo an planda “pissabed” nó planda le blas searbh é an caisearbhán. Ní hionann an cás linne (muidne, na daoine)! (grafaic: www.public-domain-image.com/animals/snail-slug/slides/slug-eating-the-leaf-from-dandelion.html by Petr Kratochvil)

Since we’ve recently been looking at luibhainmneacha (plant names) in Irish, I thought this would be a good time to revisit the dandelion, one of the mostly widely visible and easily recognizable plants of all, even for a “neamhluibheolaí” like myself.  You might remember cúpla iarbhlagmhír on this topic (naisc thíos), but here’s a quick review:

caisearbhán, dandelion, lit. bitter-footed or bitter-stemmed one

The key root word here (hmmm, could I say “taproot word”?) is “searbh” (bitter), typically used to describe apples (úll searbh), ale (leann searbh), and, more abstractly, people, laughter and the truth (duine searbh, gáire searbh, fírinne shearbh)

The “-án” suffix is used very frequently in Irish, often to indicate a more material, physical or concrete adaptation of an abstract idea (“searbhán” is a bitter thing, a physical manifestation of “seirbhe,” bitterness)

The “cai-” part is interpreted either as “cos” (foot) or “gas” (stem).  Sure, the spelling has changed some, but the “-i-” was probably added for vowel harmony and the “-s” just assimilated to the “s-” of “searbhán.”

“Caisearbhán” and “searbhán” itself can also be used to mean “a bitter person.”

Before we leave dandelions as such, let me just mention that there are at least four other terms for them in Irish, which were dealt with in the previous blogs on the topic (same naisc as were already indicated thuas, which are actually listed thíos), and there are many English folk names for the plant as well, including the blunt-as-they-can be “pissabeds” or “pissybeds,” for reasons best left to your common sense.  Bhuel, OK, the key Irish word, in case it didn’t come up in your Irish 101 or Buntús Cainte convos (delightful as they are), is fualbhrostach (diuretic).

Now, moving on with the word “searbh” itself, we see it in a variety of phrases.  The most general usage I can find is “blas searbh” (a bitter taste) and there are also various plant names using “searbh.”  There are at least four (count ’em!) types of bitter-cress, plants that all seem to be in the Cardamine family (so next quest, what does “Cardamine” literally mean?).  The general term for “bitter-cress” is “searbh-bhiolar” [SHAR-uv-VIL-ur] and the four specific types are:

1)) searbh-bhiolar giobach, hairy bitter-cress (I usually think of “giobach” as “ragged,” but close enough!)

2) searbh-bhiolar caol, narrow-leaved bitter-cress (there’s those duilleoga again, with no mention of “duilleach” in the Irish term!)

3) searbh-bhiolar casta, wavy bitter-cress (“casta” often also means twisted or complicated)

and a type of bitter-cress not literally called “searbh-bhiolar,” namely

4) seilín cuaiche, large bitter-cress, lit. little spittle of a cuckoo, presumably meaning “little droplet of cuckoo spittle.”  This plant name is similar in structure to the term “seile cuaiche,” cuckoo spit (regular-sized amount, I suppose), which is an insect in the “froghopper” family (Cercopidae)!  Irish never fails to amaze me with terms like this.  “Little spittle” vs. regular-sized spittle makes a world of difference, including actual ríocht (kingdom), as in Animalia vs. Plantae. And how did it end up that the diminutive spittle is used for the “large” bitter-cress.  Why isn’t that one simply “searbh-bhiolar” with “mór” to modify it?  Diabhal a fhios ag éinne, is dócha!  Unless one of you has some inside information on the little spit/big plant issue.

Of course, “seilín cuaiche” could simply refer to a diminutive form of the insect “seile cuaiche.”  If this were the case, then the plant name would essentially mean “little froghopper.” but somehow that seems unlikely.  Unless there’s some camouflage (duaithníocht) going on. Hmm!

As for “biolar” in general, it’s an interesting word in its own right, meaning ‘cress” or “watercress” OR “garden cress”!  And there are many types, with “biolar grá dearg” looking particularly intriguing.  But dealing with all these cresses would be too much for one blogpost, leading us up an, errmm, garden path of terminology and, deep into the realm of, if you remember from the last blogpost, one of my new favorite coined words, “luibheolaíochtheangeolaíocht” [say: LIV-OHL-ee-ukh-HANG-OHL-ee-ukht]  Hopefully you’re not too, umph, “cress-fallen” about that, but to paraphrase Scarlett O’Hara, “Tomorrow (or arú amárach) is another day.”

So from dandelions, known for being “searbh” to bitter-cress, also “searbh, except when it’s spittlish, I hope you found this as interesting a round-up of plant names as I did.  And remember, the specific terms like plant names often contain words that are more generally useful in everyday conversation.  Today we had: cos, gas, searbh, caol, casta, and hey, why not, seile and seilín. Those two might be useful for translating some choice lines from Melville, Aeschylus, or more recently, Victor Kennedy in the “Love & Monsters” episode of Doctor Who.  And boy do I see another blogpost coming — famous “spit” quotes in life, literature and philosophy, translated into Irish!

And of course there’s “cuach” (a cuckoo), and its tuiseal ginideach “cuaiche.”  SGF — Róislín 

BTW, in case the “taproot” comment intrigued you, the Irish for “taproot” is “socfhréamh” [sok-rayv, with the fh silent, as is usual in Irish, and the -mh pronounced like a v].  “Fréamh” is “root” and “soc” means many things, including a nozzle, a muzzle, a snout, the sock of a plough, and the tip of a tornado or of one’s nose.  Speaking of muzzles, we also had quite a discussion of those many blogposts ago (nasc thíos), with some interesting comments from one of our readers, screen-named “MiseÁine” — an bhfuil tú amuigh ansin fós, a Áine?  Some léitheoirí out there might find a different type of “tap” to be more refreshing, the kind we might find on a “ceaig.”  That would be a “sconna,” which also means “faucet,” or a “buacaire,” which also also means “faucet.”  Hmm, never really thought I could legitimately use “also also” in that way, but it seems to work here.  In Irish that would be “freisin freisin.”  Would that be considered “re-freisin“?  As refreshing (friseáilte) as the leacht that’s “sa cheaig,” most likely “beoir,” but possibly “ceirtlis” or “leann dubh“?

To return full circle to the “searbh” theme above, “soc searbh” means “sourpuss” in Irish!

One thing “soc” doesn’t mean, fad m’eolais, is a sock that we wear on our feet.  That would be “stoca,” plural “stocaí.”

BTW2, there are several ways to say “crestfallen,” the real crestfallen that is, with your crest having fallen, including “díomach” (disappointed, let down) and “tromchroíoch” (heavy-hearted).  I suppose though, if there was a major drought, and plants were withering and drooping, the leaves of your “biolar” could be considered “cress-fallen.” On which note, I should probably quit while I’m marginally ahead.  No use beating a drochimeartas focal marbh!

Naisc:

maidir le caisearbháin: Bláth Buí Eile — An Caisearbhán (‘Dandelion’ in Irish) Posted by róislín on May 24, 2016 in Irish Language

An Caisearbhán (The Dandelion), Cuid 2: Other Names for ‘Dandelion’ in Irish Posted by róislín on May 27, 2016 in Irish Language

maidir le luibheolaíochtheangeolaíocht (focal nuachumtha): Rós agus cúpla ainm eile air (a ‘rose’ and a couple of other names for it) [Ainmneacha Plandaí i nGaeilge: 1] Posted by róislín on Sep 20, 2016 in Irish Language

maidir le soic (sa nóta tráchta): Clásail Choibhneasta Neamhdhíreacha Redux: An Briathar “déan” (and about 8 more briathra neamhrialta to go) Posted by róislín on Feb 26, 2010 in Irish Language