Tag Archives: Athair na Nollag
Beirt Naomh Mhí na Feabhra: Naomh Bríd agus San Vailintín Posted by róislín on Feb 3, 2014
(le Róislín) Irish has two words for “saint.” I wonder if any other language is similar in this regard, but for now, we’ll just look at the two Irish words, “naomh” and “san.” For most purposes, they are not interchangeable. February celebrates both “Naomh Bríd” and “San Vailintín,” so let’s look at why they have…
Nollaig nó Nollag (How To Say ‘Christmas’ or ‘of Christmas’ in Irish) Posted by róislín on Dec 24, 2013
(le Róislín) As Christmas approaches, you might be wondering why there’s such a constant variation of whether to say “Nollaig” or “Nollag,” and in a similar vein, “An Nollaig” or “na Nollag.” First, the basic answer, and then some examples. And before that, a pronunciation pointer. What is the difference in sound between “Nollaig” and…
Daidí nó Athair (na Nollag) Posted by róislín on Dec 16, 2010
We recently addressed the “happy” vs. “merry” distinction for Christmas greetings, discussing the use of “sona” (or shona), faoi shéan and faoi mhaise, as well as non-Christmas terms translated as “happy,” like dea-, or which may function like “happy” lie “beannachtaí” (lit. blessing). Some day we’ll deal with a slew of other “happy” words, like…
Lá na nAithreacha – Father’s Day (An Tríú Domhnach i Mí an Mheithimh) Posted by róislín on Jun 20, 2010
This blog will be a round-up of terms connected to fathers, in honor of Lá na nAithreacha (Father’s Day, lit. Day of the Fathers). We’ll start with the basics (athair) and the less formal forms “Dad” and “Daddy,” and continue with more specialized phrases, like “godfather” and “Father Christmas.” athair [AH-hirzh], father How about the…