Tag Archives: seamair
Nature Words in Irish, pt. 7: Holly (following ‘acorn’ to ‘herring’) Posted by róislín on Nov 18, 2019
(le Róislín) Which words should be in a dictionary and which ones should be removed after a certain period of time? We can all probably agree that for modern English pocket dictionaries, we probably don’t need to take up space with words like “apricity” or “yelm,” although I’m delighted to find them in Landmarks, Robert…
Nature Words in Irish, pt. 5: Catkin to Crocus (following up on acorn to buttercup) Posted by róislín on Oct 17, 2019
(le Róislín) “Catkin” — now there’s a word I don’t use very often in English and I’m tickled pink to be writing about it here, in a blog for Irish language learners. The other “c-anna” words for today’s post are a little more basic: cauliflower, chestnut, clover, conker (not “conquer” as such!), and crocus. Anybody…
Seamra vs. Seamróga: Which Plant Goes with St. Patrick’s Day? Posted by róislín on Mar 17, 2014
(le Róislín) An tseamair nó an tseamróg? There’s lots of discussion online and in print about what plant is actually meant by the term “shamrock.” This blog isn’t going to attempt to solve that riddle, but we will look at the related vocabulary for “clover” in general and for “shamrock” in particular. “Seamróg” is the…
Deir an Dúmheidic (Black Medick): “Ba mhaith liomsa a bheith i m’iomaitheoir freisin!” Posted by róislín on Mar 13, 2012
(le Róislín) In the last blog (blogs.transparent.com/irish/an-tseamrog-the-shamrock/), I noted that there were at least eight contenders for the title of “shamrock,” including seamsóg (wood-sorrel) and various types of seamair (clover). The blog I cited (www.naturalistsalmanac.com/0317stpat.html) mentioned there being eight possibilities, but only elaborated on six (five types of clover and the wood-sorrel). So what are the other…