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Tag Archives: galf

The Word “Before” in Irish, Part 3 Posted by on Oct 4, 2010

Now we’ve taken care of five of the seven-plus ways to say “before” in Irish, which Seanchán had asked about (roimh, sula/sular, os coinne, os comhair, cheana).  The remaining two that he asked about are “thar” and “ar tosach.” First, let me say that both “thar” and “ar tosach” have a variety of other meanings…

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Karros, Carrus, and Today’s “Carr” Posted by on Apr 27, 2009

(le Róislín)   You might have noticed “carr” as a recent Word of the Day at blogs.transparent.com.  It could be easy to assume that this is a recent borrowing from English, dating to the era of, well, motor-cars.  Ach a mhalairt, a chara!  (but the opposite, my friend).    The word “carr” was in use in…

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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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As Easy as “a hAon, a Dó, a Trí” – Na Maoluimhreacha i nGaeilge Posted by on Mar 19, 2009

(le Róislín) Quite a few of the basic Irish numbers from one to ten are recognizable if you know at least one other European language.  In each case, the actual number is preceded by the single letter “a,” which here is the numerical particle.  It has no actual meaning.  It simply indicates that a “maoluimhir”…

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