Tag Archives: Latin
Téarmaí Oíche Shamhna: Cineálacha Cultacha (Halloween Terms: ‘Kinds of Costumes’ in Irish) Posted by róislín on Oct 6, 2016
(le Róislín) By early October, the maisiúcháin and cultacha are already in full force sna siopaí. Céard atá pleanáilte agatsa faoi choinne Oíche Shamhna? We’ve talked about cultacha (costumes) previously in this blog, but this would be a good time to review some of the traditional ones. And to find out if you’ve got any…
When Does ‘X’ Become ‘CS’? Freagra: In the Middle of Some Irish Words Posted by róislín on Sep 28, 2015
(le Róislín) Your first thought on looking at the combination “cs” might be the abbreviation for the element ‘cesium’ (caeisiam, i nGaeilge). Well, maybe not. Not exactly a “téarma laethúil.” Maybe “Csárdás,” the Hungarian dance? That’s “cardas,” i nGaeilge, by the way. Maybe CSI (an clár teilifíse)? Any way you look at it, “cs” as a…
‘In quarantine’ or ‘on quarantine’ — how to say it in Irish Posted by róislín on Oct 15, 2014
(le Róislín) In the recent blog on the Ebola virus (víreas Ebola), I referred briefly to saying “in quarantine” in Irish. It seems like a simple phrase to say, and the word for “quarantine” itself isn’t surprising — “coraintín” [KOR-antch-een], no relation to “aintín” as such! But it’s interesting to note the preposition that’s used…
The Irish word for ‘October’ and other words related to ‘fómhar’ and ‘fómhair’ Posted by róislín on Oct 6, 2014
(le Róislín) In some previous blogs (naisc thíos), we’ve looked at the names of the months (míonna) and seasons (séasúir) in Irish, including a discussion specifically of “September” and “October.” So let’s try a little mixing and matching for review of “September,” “October,” and the Fall or Autumn season. Given the word “fómhar” and its…
When to Say ‘Pádraig,’ When to Say ‘Phádraig,’ and When to say ‘Saxifraga spathularis’ Posted by róislín on Mar 11, 2014
(le Róislín) With Lá Fhéile Pádraig just around the corner, let’s take a closer look at the name “Pádraig” itself. It has two main forms, “Pádraig” being the basic form, and “Phádraig,” used in certain types of phrases. Less frequently, we may also encounter “bPádraig.” Of course, there are also nicknames, like Páidín, Páid, Padhra…
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…
Deich nDóigh (10 Ways) le ‘I Love You’ a Rá i nGaeilge Posted by róislín on Feb 8, 2013
(le Róislín) So, Irish has lots of ways to say “I love you,” but most of them don’t involve the verb “to love.” How is that supposed to work? Bhuel, with lots of téarmaí ceana (terms of endearment)! In other words, you mostly use nouns to say that someone is your sweetheart, your darling, your…