Irish Language Blog
Menu
Search

Tag Archives: ubh

Cáisc, Cháisc, Chásca, Cásca et al. – Which One When? Posted by on Apr 8, 2012

(le Róislín) After seeing so many Easter phrases, you might start to wonder why there are so many different forms of the same word.  Well, there’s the practical answer and the theoretical answer. Let’s start with the practical answer.  For “Easter” in Irish we have the subject form (An Cháisc, lenited because it’s a feminine…

Continue Reading

M3, .i. An Téarma Gramadaí (Ní Mótarbhealach Atá i gCeist) Posted by on Apr 27, 2011

(le Róislín) The abbreviation “M3” may suggest many things to many people: mótarbhealaigh (to traffic planners), soláthar airgid (to financial analysts), tomhas scriú sa chóras méadrach (to carpenters), an teanga ríomhchlárúcháin  Modula-3 (to computer programmers), and an réaltbhraisle chruinneogach sa réaltbhuíon “na Madraí Fiaigh,” .i. Canes Venatici (to astronomers), to name just a few.  But…

Continue Reading

An Dara Díochlaonadh, Firinscneach: Lambs of Butter, Mountains of Butter Posted by on Apr 15, 2011

(le Róislín) Second-declension nouns — mostly feminine, right?  Right!  Mar shampla: spúnóg, bróg, ubh, feirm.  Tuiseal ginideach, uatha? Sodhéanta: spúnóige, bróige, uibhe, feirme, etc. I mentioned in an earlier blog that at least two 2nd-declension nouns are masculine, “im” and “sliabh.”  Let’s start with “im” (butter), if for no other reason than that it has…

Continue Reading

Picnic Lá Samhraidh Posted by on Jul 10, 2009

Even though “An Ceathrú” (The Fourth) is now over for this year, with all of its picnic activities, I imagine there will be many more picnicí held over the course of the summer.    Here are some selections of bia picnice (picnic food) that are popular in my neck of the woods (and that’s an…

Continue Reading

An Cháisc (Easter) is a Cognate of … Pascha and Pesach Posted by on Apr 12, 2009

(le Róislín) It may seem straightforward enough that Pascha (Latin for Easter) and Pesach (Passover) are linguistically related to each other.  Several of the other Celtic words for Easter are also clearly connected, Y Pasg (Welsh), Pask (Cornish, Breton), as are the English adjective, Paschal, and the Romance words, Pâques, Pascua, and Pasqua.  Their connection…

Continue Reading

Newer posts