Tag Archives: naomh
An Caisearbhán (The Dandelion), Cuid 2: Other Names for ‘Dandelion’ in Irish Posted by róislín on May 27, 2016
(le Róislín) Last time we looked at the word most typically taught for “dandelion” (caisearbhán [kah-SHAR-uh-vawn]) and checked out its interesting etymology (cos, foot, or maybe gas, stem + searbh, bitter + -án). Today we’ll look at the different ways this word can be used in sentences or phrases, and then we’ll move on to…
Naoimh, Neimhe, Néimhe, and Nimhe — and what does any of this have to do with Saint Patrick? (Cuid 2 as 2) Posted by róislín on Mar 27, 2016
(le Róislín) We interrupted our “Naoimh, Neimhe, Néimhe, Nimhe” sequence (nasc thíos) for an Easter preview, but now let’s go back to wrap up this thrilling excursion through the genitive case, stopping at the second declension. The second who? It’s a category of nouns in Irish with similar endings to show possession and plural and…
Naoimh, Neimhe, Néimhe, and Nimhe — and what does any of this have to do with Saint Patrick? (Cuid 1 as 2) Posted by róislín on Mar 20, 2016
(le Róislín) Well, to answer the title question, the St. Patrick connection will primarily be in the first of the four words in the title, “naoimh.” You might remember that in the most recent blog (nasc thíos), we looked at these five words: naomh, neamh, neamh- (the prefix), Niamh, and nimh, meaning, in order: saint…
Naomh, Neamh, Neamh-, Niamh, Nimh — Which One Pertains to St. Patrick and How Do You Pronounce Them? Posted by róislín on Mar 17, 2016
(le Róislín) Oh, the beauty of péirí íosdifríochta! In the title we see five words that have similar spellings and somewhat similar sounds. So let’s dig right in and see what the differences are. We’ll start with “naomh” for two reasons. First, it comes first alphabetically, never a bad reason for sequencing. Second, this is…
St. Bridget and St. Valentine in Irish (1 Feabhra agus 14 Feabhra) Posted by róislín on Jan 31, 2015
(le Róislín) While, yes, there is at least one saint for every day of the year, February is remarkable in celebrating two saints quite prominently. This is especially true in Ireland. February 1st is celebrated as “Lá Fhéile Bríde” in Ireland, and to some extent, in other Celtic areas or diasporas. Anciently, it was…
Luan Glas (or should it be ‘Luan Uaine’?): Green Monday Posted by róislín on Dec 8, 2014
(le Róislín) I recently saw an article from WHEC (nasc thíos) that happened to sort of sum up my view on “coined shopping days.” It starts out, “Just when you thought all the coined shopping days were over, today is Green Monday.” The article stops just short of being a jeremiad about the commercialization of…
Ten St. Patrick’s Day Items and How to Lenite and Eclipse Them Posted by róislín on Mar 19, 2014
(le Róislín) Before we completely leave Lá Fhéile Pádraig (aka Lá ‘le Pádraig) behind us and turn to “céad lá an Earraigh” (20 mí an Mhárta 2014), let’s practice lenition and eclipsis of some Irish nouns pertaining to “an Naomh é féin” and the celebrations of the day. The concepts of lenition and eclipsis have been discussed many times…