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Tag Archives: athair críonna

Terms for Grandchildren “as Gaeilge” (in Irish): Garmhac, Gariníon and Other Compounds with “Gar” Posted by on Apr 21, 2009

(le Róislín)   Unlike English, where the prefix “grand-“ is used with “mother,” “father,” “parent,” “son,” “daughter,” and “child,” in Irish, there is a major shift in the qualifier used for “grandchildren.”  As you may recall from the previous blog on grandparents, there are three widely used options: seanathair / seanmháthair, athair mór / máthair…

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Mór? Críonna? or Sean? — Grandparents By Any Other Name! Posted by 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…

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Clever, “Cute,” Smart, Intelligent, Wise, and/or Cunning – as Gaeilge! Posted by 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. …

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