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Tag Archives: beann

Unicorn or rhinoceros? Compound words with ‘-bheannach’ in Irish Posted by on Jan 20, 2019

(le Róislín) By now, you may have guessed — the Irish for unicorn is “aonbheannach,” (lit. one-horned”).  Or you may have picked up the word from reading _Harry Potter agus an Órchloch_ (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, aka Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) by J. K. Rowling and translated into Irish by Máire Nic…

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Can A Word Look Irish But Not Be Irish?   The Curious Case of … (Léigh leat le fáil amach) Posted by on Apr 25, 2018

(le Róislín) As you can see in the graphic above, Irish has a number of words that end in “-inne.”  And to add to the mix, the ending “-inné” does exist but is much less common.  The ten words above end in either “-inne” or “-inné,” but one of them isn’t actually Irish.  So, looking…

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Droichead na Cónaidhme nó ‘Réise na mBeann Glas’ (Mar a Dúradh) Posted by on Feb 22, 2014

(le Róislín) I couldn’t resist spending a little more time with bridges (droichid) since Canada’s Confederation Bridge has such a clever nickname, as bestowed by …, hmm, which Irish person?  (freagra thíos). Just a quick review of the phrase “Droichead na Cónaidhme,” before we get to the nickname: droichead [DRIH-hud], bridge na [nuh], here it…

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Na Focail “Beoir” agus “Leann” i nGaeilge (Beer and Ale) Posted by on Mar 16, 2012

(le Róislín) I’m sure lots of people have lots of thoughts about beer and ale at this festive time of year.  Probably most folks aren’t “declining” those nouns at the moment.  That’s “declining” as a grammatical term, of course, not literally turning down or rejecting.  But if you’re reading this blog, that’s what we’re in…

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