{"id":10258,"date":"2018-03-07T12:24:52","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T12:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=10258"},"modified":"2018-03-23T01:13:04","modified_gmt":"2018-03-23T01:13:04","slug":"cen-fath-a-dtugtar-corned-beef-ar-mhairteoil-shaillte-muna-bhfuil-corn-ar-bith-i-gceist-agus-cad-a-itheann-tusa-i-gcomhair-st-patricks-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/cen-fath-a-dtugtar-corned-beef-ar-mhairteoil-shaillte-muna-bhfuil-corn-ar-bith-i-gceist-agus-cad-a-itheann-tusa-i-gcomhair-st-patricks-day\/","title":{"rendered":"C\u00e9n f\u00e1th a dtugtar ‘corned beef’ ar mhairteoil shaillte muna bhfuil ‘corn’ ar bith i gceist? Agus cad a itheann tusa i gcomhair ‘St. Patrick’s Day’?"},"content":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File%3ACornedbeef.jpg<\/a>; \u201cIrish Dinner,\u201d By A1stopshop (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons; T\u00e9acs Gaeilge le R\u00f3isl\u00edn, 2018<\/p><\/div>Ever wonder why “corned beef” is called “corned beef” in English?\u00a0 And since the English word “corned” is a bit obscure these days, what’s the Irish for “corned”?\u00a0 Nothing to do with “arbhar<\/strong>” (corn, maize) or “gr\u00e1n<\/strong>” (corn, edible grain). Apparently, there are two possible origins for saying “corned.”<\/p>\n

1). The salt (salann<\/strong>) used for curing and preserving used to be sold in coarse grains called “corns”.\u00a0 I checked for this use of “corns” in Irish, and I did find that “gr\u00e1inne<\/strong>” (a grain or small particle) is considered an equivalent.\u00a0 It can refer to oats (gr\u00e1inne coirce<\/strong>), wheat (gr\u00e1inne cruithneachta<\/strong>), and barley (gr\u00e1inne eorn<\/strong>a, of course … “John Barleycorn” — I never really thought about what the “corn” part meant!\u00a0 Fiosrach?\u00a0 N\u00f3ta th\u00edos<\/strong>.).\u00a0 And of course, it’s still quite popular to buy pepper in its unground state, as “peppercorns” (gr\u00e1inne piobair<\/strong> OR piobarchaor<\/strong>, a peppercorn). “Gr\u00e1inne<\/strong>” is usually translated as “a grain” but in certain limited contexts, it can be translated as “a corn.” So apparently there were once “corns” of salt, although today we mostly just talk about “peppercorns.”<\/p>\n

2). The second possibility still considers “corns” to be “coarse grains,” but instead of actual salt, the substance was saltpeter (sailp\u00edtear<\/strong>, scientifically, potassium nitrate, n\u00edotr\u00e1it photaisiam<\/strong>, KNO3<\/sub>).\u00a0 Apparently saltpeter is naturally transparent, so a pink color is added to it to distinguish it from table salt and giving the meat the distinctive pink color; tuilleadh eolais faoi shailp\u00edtear ag <\/strong>“The Truth about Saltpetre” sa <\/strong>Jamaica Gleaner,<\/em> nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

In fact, the Irish terms are much clearer than “corned” from a modern perspective, since they simply mean “salted” or “cured.”\u00a0 There are two terms in use:<\/p>\n

1). mairteoil shaillte<\/strong>, lit. salted beef, from the verb “sailleadh<\/strong>” (to salt, and also, btw, to grossly overcharge someone for a purchase). As a noun, “saill<\/strong>,” on its own, can mean “salted meat.”\u00a0 Curiously, though, when you’re talking about the texture of the meat itself, “saill<\/strong>” means “fat” (not “salt” or “salted meat”) and is completely different from the ordinary adjective for “fat,” which is “ramhar<\/strong>.” “Saill mhairt<\/strong>,” as opposed to “mairteoil shaillte<\/strong>,” means “beef fat,” not “salted beef”!<\/p>\n

2). mairteoil leasaithe<\/strong>, lit. cured beef.\u00a0 Depending on the food involved or object treated, “leasaithe<\/strong>” can have a few other translations as well:<\/p>\n

salted<\/em>: im leasaithe<\/strong>, salted butter<\/p>\n

preserved<\/em>: toradh leasaithe<\/strong>, preserved fruit<\/p>\n

fertilized with manure<\/em>: talamh leasaithe<\/strong>, fertilized land<\/p>\n

kippered<\/em>: scad\u00e1n leasaithe<\/strong>, kippered herring, or just “a kipper.”\u00a0 The origin of the word “kipper” is interesting in and of itself but the full saga is too long to include here.\u00a0 Suffice it to say that “kypre<\/em>” meant “salmon” in Middle English, and apparently the process of “kippering” was originally or traditionally done with salmon (called “brad\u00e1n<\/strong>” in Irish, so no relation).\u00a0 “Scad\u00e1n<\/strong>” is “herring.”<\/p>\n

dressed<\/em> (cured with salt, i.e. dried to prepare for tanning), leathar leasaithe<\/strong>.\u00a0 By the way, after pondering the question, I did finally confirm that the salt used for curing leather is the same as the table salt we use today (sodium chloride, cl\u00f3ir\u00edd s\u00f3idiam<\/strong> NaCl), according to northwoodsinternational.com (nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>).\u00a0 I kept reading about “salts,” so I started to wonder\u00a0 — why “salts,” and not just “salt”!<\/p>\n

flavored with bacon<\/em>: cab\u00e1iste leasaithe<\/strong>, cabbage flavored with bacon. Hmm, was this a harbinger of the bacon-mania to come, with the early 21st century boasting baconnaise, bacon-infused vodka, bacon-flavored cookies and ice-cream, and chocolate-covered bacon!\u00a0 Bacon-mania, btw, has its own Wikipedia entry (nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>), in English, French “Engouement pour le lard<\/em>” — !)\u00a0\u00a0 and Japanese (\u30d9\u30fc\u30b3\u30f3\u30fb\u30de\u30cb\u30a2, \u30d9\u30fc\u30b3\u30f3, bacon + \u30de\u30cb\u30a2, mania).\u00a0 So far, I haven’t found an Irish word for “bacon-mania,” but I assume we could use ” *bag\u00fanmh\u00e1ine<\/strong>,” based on “cleipteam\u00e1ine,” “meigleam\u00e1ine<\/strong>” and “f\u00e9inmh\u00e1ine<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

Needless to say, and perish the thought, none of this has anything to do with “fadharc\u00e1in<\/strong>,” which join buinne\u00e1in, carbuncail, carrmhogail, faithn\u00ed, liopa\u00ed craicinn, meallta gorma<\/strong>, and pochaill\u00ed<\/strong> in plaguing our skin, especially feet.<\/p>\n

Most of this post has been dedicated to the meat (feoil<\/strong>) on the plate (pl\u00e1ta<\/strong>) in the photograph above.\u00a0 But, just as a quick reminder, for the rest of the famed “Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner” of St. Patrick’s Day, at least in the US, we also have “cab\u00e1iste<\/strong>” (cabbage) and “pr\u00e1ta\u00ed<\/strong>” (potatoes).\u00a0 Of \u00a0course, there are other words for potatoes as well, but that would be way too much for one post (naisc th\u00edos<\/strong> for some previous entries).\u00a0 But, ar an \u00e1bhar sin<\/strong>, what do you like to eat on St. Patrick’s Day?\u00a0 Mairteoil Shaillte?\u00a0 Stobhach Gaelach? Cadal Bhaile \u00c1tha Cliath?<\/strong>\u00a0 We’d love to hear about your St.Patrick’s Day foodways.\u00a0 Hope you enjoyed, anyway.\u00a0 SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/p>\n

Gluais\u00edn; buinne\u00e1n<\/strong>, bunion;\u00a0carbuncal,<\/strong>\u00a0carbuncle; carrmhogal<\/strong>, carbuncle, faithne<\/strong>, wart (unless it’s on a plant or animal, in which case, it’s once again a “fadharc\u00e1n<\/strong>“), fadharc\u00e1n<\/strong>, corn (on skin); liopa craicinn<\/strong>, skin tag, meall gorm<\/strong>, carbuncle; pochaille<\/strong>, bunion;<\/p>\n

Naisc:\u00a0\u00a0pr\u00e1ta<\/strong>\u00ed: A Pr\u00e1ta by Any Other Name: T\u00e9arma\u00ed Bia agus C\u00f3caireachta (Food and Cooking Terms)<\/a> Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Jun 23, 2009 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

Nite, Bruite, is Ite \u2014 Na Pr\u00e1ta\u00ed (aka Fata\u00ed), That Is!<\/a> Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Nov 5, 2013 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

faoi shailp\u00edtear<\/strong>:\u00a0http:\/\/jamaica-gleaner.com\/gleaner\/20110115\/life\/life2.html<\/a>\u00a0 “Healthy Lifestyle: The Truth about Saltpetre,” by Heather Little-White, Ph.D., January 15, 2011<\/p>\n

faoi leathar<\/strong>: http:\/\/www.northwoodsinternational.com\/theprocess.html<\/p>\n

faoi bhag\u00fan<\/strong>: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bacon_mania<\/a><\/p>\n

faoi bheoir<\/strong>: http:\/\/www.realbeer.com\/library\/beerbreak\/archives\/beerbreak0325.php, “A beer lover by any other name …”, Beer Break, Vol. 3, No. 25, April 23, 2003<\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta<\/strong>: As for “John Barleycorn,” aside from the fact that he must be sacrificed in order to wet the gaping gullets of the world’s beer-fanciers, what else do we know about “him” (as it were)?\u00a0 Well, there are the renditions of the song by Traffic and by Fairport Convention and before that, there was the 1913 autobiographical novel by Jack London (simply called “John Barleycorn”). But the song itself goes back to at least 1725, and Robert Burns notably created version in 1782.\u00a0 The basic theme (killing the plant to make the beer, then drinking its “blood”) may in fact go back to ancient religious practices of “na hAngla-Shacsanaigh<\/strong>,” involving a “dia r\u00e9amh-Chr\u00edosta\u00ed<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

Regarding the term “beer-fancier,” a 2003 article in Beer Break<\/em>\u00a0gave the results of a survey of what the beer-fanciers would like to call themselves.\u00a0 Suggestions included the following: enthusiast, aficionado, snob (!), fans, guys and gals, mavens, and, I love ’em, cervisaphile and “the Barley Literati.”\u00a0 Alliteration claimed its popular place with “beer buff,” “slops surveyor,” “ale addict,” and” hops handler.”\u00a0 But I was also intrigued by “beeroisseurs,” as contributor Tony Randall suggested to the survey (nasc thuas<\/strong>, NB: “thuas<\/strong>” this time instead of “th\u00edos<\/strong>,” since this is already a footnote, and just to keep your on your directionally-oriented toes).<\/p>\n

Anois, c\u00e9n Ghaeilge a bheadh air sin go l\u00e9ir — \u00e1bhar blag eile?<\/strong>\u00a0 And how about for enthusiasts of other related beverages?\u00a0 I’ll add my own alliterative suggestions to the English list: *lager lovers, *Guinness guzzlers, *poteen potateurs,<\/em>\u00a0*porter poetasters, *brew buveurs<\/em>, *IPA imbibers, and *ale alimentators (apparently “alimentator” is the Romanian for a “feeding device,” which seems reasonable).\u00a0 So, maybe coming up soon, we’ll have a survey of Irish words for fans and fanciers, enthusiasts and aficionados of, let’s say, anything — it’s all good vocabulary practice.\u00a0 And it’ll give me a chance to revive the most head-scratchingest, brain-bustingest, fun-soundingest phrase I’ve been able to come with for Irish, so far — “An m\u00f3id\u00edn Doctor Who<\/em> th\u00fa?<\/strong>” (Are you a Doctor Who<\/em> fan?).\u00a0 \u00a0It took me a long time to work around the fact that the Doctor’s name isn’t “Who,” so you can’t logically say “An Doctor Who …<\/strong>” followed by “… th\u00fa?<\/strong>”\u00a0 And if we get really grammatical, you couldn’t say that anyway, because the question should be, “An t\u00fa an Doctor Who?<\/strong>” and you would lose the immediate echo effect.\u00a0 But like I said, his name’s not “Who,” so it doesn’t work, anyway.<\/p>\n

Naisc faoin “gceist Doctor Who”:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is (X) m\u00e9 \u2014 An (X) thusa?\u00a0 \u2014 Saying \u2018I am a (X)\u2019 \u2014 \u2018Are you a (X)?\u2019 in Irish\u00a0<\/a>Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Oct 27, 2017 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Vocabulary Roundup for the Blogpost \u201dIs (X) m\u00e9 \u2014 An (X) tusa?\u00a0 \u2014 Saying \u201cI am a (X)\u201d \u2014 \u201cAre you a (X)?\u201d in Irish\u201d (Cuid\/Pt. 2)<\/a>Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Oct 31, 2017 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018I am not an \u2018uimhir\u2019 \u2018 and Other Indefinite Predicate Nominatives \u2014 Let\u2019s Say Them in Irish<\/a>Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Jan 23, 2015 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Ever wonder why “corned beef” is called “corned beef” in English?\u00a0 And since the English word “corned” is a bit obscure these days, what’s the Irish for “corned”?\u00a0 Nothing to do with “arbhar” (corn, maize) or “gr\u00e1n” (corn, edible grain). Apparently, there are two possible origins for saying “corned.” 1). The salt (salann)…<\/p>\n

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