Tag Archives: singular
Irish Words ending with ‘-íceach’ and sometimes ‘-ícigh’ or ‘-ící’ – dosaen fada díobh Posted by róislín on Aug 29, 2018
(le Róislín) From “-icí” [IK-ee] to “-ící” [EEK-ee]! In the last blogpost (nasc thíos) we looked at some Irish words ending in “-icí,” either in their basic structure, like “dicí” or “soinicí” or in an inflected form, like “picnicí,” “gúsnaicí,” or “ceimicí.” Today we’ll look at a few Irish words ending in “-íceach,” which in…
Deich bhFrása Shuimiúla as Alt Uí Mhuirthile (‘Saoirí Samhraidh’ san Irish Times), Cuid 1 Posted by róislín on Jul 25, 2016
(le Róislín) In the most recent blogpost, we looked at how the word ‘samhradh‘ appeared in four different ways in an “An Peann Coitianta” column from the Irish Times (naisc thíos). Even as I was focusing on those four forms (samhradh, samhraidh, an tsamhraidh, samhraí), I kept thinking, “This article is full of great phrases…
How many ways can we say ‘bliain’ (year) in Irish, including ‘athbhliain’? Posted by róislín on Jan 11, 2016
(le Róislín) As we settle into the new year (an bhliain nua, an bhliain úr, an athbhliain, srl.), let’s think of how many ways we can say and use the word ‘year’ in Irish. Most recently, you’ve probably seen the phrase “Athbhliain faoi shéan is faoi mhaise” (A happy and prosperous New Year). But let’s look…
10 Ways to Describe “Seamróga” (Shamrocks) in Irish Posted by róislín on Mar 8, 2014
(le Róislín) As we approach Lá Fhéile Pádraig (aka “Lá ‘le Pádraig” and “St. Patrick’s Day”), our thoughts naturally turn to “seamróga” (shamrocks). How many ways can we think of to describe them? We’ll try for at least ten in this blog. Maybe some readers will have some more suggestions. A key thing to remember…
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…
Cé Mhéad Patraisc? Cé Mhéad Drumadóir? (or ’12 Lá na Nollag’ Redux and an Irish Counting Lesson to boot) Posted by róislín on Dec 18, 2013
(le Róislín) In the last blog, we discussed “fearáin” (aka “fearáin bhreaca“) amongst other members of the order Columbiformes (coilm agus colúir, doves and pigeons, etc.). And we briefly alluded to the fact that the Irish for “turtledove” doesn’t have the element “turtle” (turtar) or “dove” (colm, or sometimes “colúir” — for more on the…
Cé Mhéad Tuíodóir? (How many thatchers?) Posted by róislín on Apr 21, 2013
(le Róislín) In the last blog, I raised the question of how many professional thatchers are out there, curious as to whether the trade growing or declining. Trying to search for numbers of thatchers in the US, Canada, and Australia proved a bit time-consuming. Computer searches mostly ended up giving me results for “dethatching” services…