{"id":11185,"date":"2019-10-17T20:36:55","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T20:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=11185"},"modified":"2019-12-26T16:44:16","modified_gmt":"2019-12-26T16:44:16","slug":"nature-words-in-irish-pt-5-catkin-to-crocus-following-up-on-acorn-to-buttercup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/nature-words-in-irish-pt-5-catkin-to-crocus-following-up-on-acorn-to-buttercup\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature Words in Irish, pt. 5: Catkin to Crocus (following up on acorn\u00a0 to buttercup)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a>

grafaic (cait\u00edn\u00ed): License:\u00a0CC0 Public Domain; https:\/\/www.publicdomainpictures.net\/en\/view-image.php?image=79091&picture=hazel-catkins<\/a>; t\u00e9acs Gaeilge le R\u00f3isl\u00edn, 2019; graphic (cat): License:\u00a0CC0 Public Domain ; https:\/\/www.publicdomainpictures.net\/en\/view-image.php?image=38475&picture=kitten-cat-clipart<\/a> ; t\u00e9acs Gaeilge le R\u00f3isl\u00edn, 2019<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

“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.\u00a0 The other “c-anna<\/strong>” words for today’s post are a little more basic: cauliflower, chestnut, clover, conker (not “conquer” as such!), and crocus.<\/p>\n

Anybody remember why I’ve picked this set of words to discuss here?\u00a0 Going back to my post of 20 August 2019, we’ve been looking at the 50 or so nature terms that were removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary<\/em> (OJD), which I must add is otherwise a very admirable publication, as is everything thing I’ve ever seen from Oxford University Press.\u00a0 I especially love the dictionaries (n\u00ed nach ionadh, m\u00e1 t\u00e1 aithne agat orm<\/strong>!).\u00a0 I still treasure my 2-volume miniaturized edition, which came in its own specially designed box with a drawer for the magnifying glass that was included. \u00a0Pre-online databases, of course, which is where most people, including myself, use the Oxford English Dictionary today, given that the last printed volume took up four feet of shelf-space (1.22 m) and weighed about 150 pounds (over 10 stone) .<\/p>\n

The publishers justified the removal of the nature terms from the OJD<\/em> in order for make room for new, high-tech, social media-oriented words like “broadband” and “chatroom.” \u00a0Since the OJD<\/em> has a word ceiling of 10,000, some older words had to go to make room for the new.\u00a0 Articles about the removal started to appear about 10 years ago and have surfaced intermittently since then, especially as the dialogue about the role of nature in our lives, especially children’s lives, continues.\u00a0 Does it make us happier, healthier, more grounded, and perhaps less allergic, to spend more time in nature, looking at and interacting with 3-dimensional objects in the landscape?\u00a0 That’s one important question, but I also wonder what the Irish reaction would have been if something similar had happened with an Irish language dictionary.\u00a0 Not that there are lots of monolingual Irish dictionaries around (though An Focl\u00f3ir Beag<\/em> meets that challenge nobly).\u00a0 This is especially true regarding children’s dictionaries, but there are, at least, school dictionaries, picture dictionaries, etc.\u00a0 An Focl\u00f3ir Beag<\/em> is great, but it’s meant for the adult reader, or at least the older child.\u00a0 The OJD<\/em>‘s target readership was seven-year-olds.<\/p>\n

Be all that as it may, in this blog series, we’ve been working our way through the Irish versions of those same 50 nature words and pondering what lucht labhartha na Gaeilge<\/strong>\u00a0would think if the same words were removed from any of the focl\u00f3ir\u00ed Gaeilge<\/strong>.\u00a0 That said, let’s get down to “smior an sc\u00e9il<\/strong>,” that is to say, i mB\u00e9arla<\/strong>, the brass tacks or the nitty gritty.\u00a0 There are so many terms for today’s blogpost (na c-anna<\/strong>), that we limit this listing to the singular and plural forms of the words.\u00a0 Maybe at some point in the future, we can add more forms for possessive, etc:<\/p>\n

1)) catkin (aka lamb’s tail): cait\u00edn coill<\/strong> (lit. little cat of hazel), pl.\u00a0 cait\u00edn\u00ed coill<\/strong> OR cait\u00edn sail\u00ed<\/strong> (lit. little cat of willow), pl. cait\u00edn\u00ed sail\u00ed<\/strong>.\u00a0 And let’s not forget that Irish has a specific word for “catkin-bearing” (important when discussing plant breeding and propagation): cait\u00edneach<\/strong>.\u00a0 It also means “napped” in fabric. \u00a0Catkins can be seen particular on willow or hazel trees, and also on birch, hickory,\u00a0 sweet chestnut, and sweetfern<\/p>\n

2)) cauliflower: c\u00f3ilis<\/strong>, pl. c\u00f3iliseacha<\/strong><\/p>\n

3)) chestnut: cast\u00e1n<\/strong> is the most general term, pl. cast\u00e1in<\/strong>.\u00a0 There are also different types, like cast\u00e1n Eorpach<\/strong> (sweet chestnut) \u00a0and cn\u00f3 capaill<\/strong> (lit. nut of horse or as in English, horse chestnut) and cast\u00e1n uisc<\/strong>e (water chestnut)..\u00a0 There are , of course, all of those “old chestnuts” but that’s a completely different word in Irish, more straightforward actually: seansc\u00e9al<\/strong>, and if it’s a really really old chestnut it could be a “seansc\u00e9al agus meirg air” (meirg<\/strong> = rust).\u00a0 An interesting related term is “castain\u00e9id<\/strong>” (castanets), from the Latin “castanea<\/em>” (chestnut) via the Spanish “casta\u00f1a,” “casta\u00f1eta,” <\/em>and “casta\u00f1uela”<\/em> (hmm, three Spanish words for castanets? \u00a0Or are they for chestnuts, as such.\u00a0 P\u00e9 sc\u00e9al \u00e9 — \u00a0suimi\u00fail<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

4)) clover: seamair<\/strong>, pl. seamra<\/strong> (as a subject) and seamar<\/strong> (sa tuiseal ginideach, iolra<\/strong>, included here despite our attempt to trim down the entries b\/c it’s such an unusual plural).\u00a0 This word gives us “seamr\u00f3g<\/strong>” (shamrock), which is basically a type of clover, the exact variety of which is often debated, and gets discussed every L\u00e1 ‘le P\u00e1draig<\/strong> (St. Patrick’s Day).\u00a0 I definitely could not imagine removing this word from an Irish language dictionary!<\/p>\n

And let’s not forget the adjective: seamrach<\/strong>, which, not surprisingly, means “covered with clover” as slightly differentiated from “seamr\u00f3gach<\/strong>” (covered with shamrocks).<\/p>\n

5)) conker: this brings us back to “chestnut,” specifically “cn\u00f3 capaill<\/strong>,” with “cn\u00f3<\/strong>” being the Irish for “nut” and “capaill<\/strong>” (of horse). So, in Irish it’s not related to “conquer,” for which the Irish would be “buaigh<\/strong>” or “bain amach<\/strong>” or “clo\u00edgh<\/strong>.”\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0That said, William the Conqueror is referred to as “Uilliam Concaire<\/strong>.”\u00a0 Hmm, again, suimi\u00fail<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0Something tells me that in this high-tech age, “conkers” as a game is not as popular as it used to be, when children made many of their own toys.\u00a0 So, a little reluctantly, I can see yielding this dictionary entry to “progress.”\u00a0 But … whoa!\u00a0 A little further research shows competitions and championships in Britain, Ireland, and even North America, some just having started up in recent years.\u00a0 So I guess the game is holding its own, even with the concerns over players’ safety and liability issues.\u00a0 It is interesting to note that while English distinguished between “horse-chestnut” as a general term and “conker” for the game, Irish uses one term “cn\u00f3 capaill” for both the ordinary nut and the nut as prepared for playing conkers.<\/p>\n

And finally (for the C’s in our list):<\/p>\n

6)) crocus: the basic form is pretty easy: cr\u00f3ch<\/strong>, for the ordinary crocus flower, and there’s also “cr\u00f3ch an fh\u00f3mhair<\/strong>” (autumn or autumnal crocus, aka colchicum<\/em>, which is toxic) and “cr\u00f3ch safr\u00f3n<\/strong>” (saffron crocus, which gives us saffron, which is edible, tasty, and expensive).\u00a0 “Cr\u00f3ch<\/strong>” also means “saffron” and can be used for the color, with or without “-bhu\u00ed<\/strong>” added (as in cr\u00f3chbhu\u00ed<\/strong>, saffron-yellow, saffron-colored).\u00a0 Related terms include: \u00a0“cr\u00f3chadh<\/strong>” (dyeing fabric with saffron or flavoring food with saffron), anlann cr\u00f3ch<\/strong> (saffron sauce). r\u00eds chr\u00f3ch<\/strong> (saffron rice) and ar\u00e1n cr\u00f3ch<\/strong> (saffron bread). \u00a0\u00a0BTW, none of the sources I’ve checked list a plural form for “cr\u00f3ch<\/strong>.”\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Just to add to the taxonomical confusion, i m’intinn f\u00e9in, ar a laghad<\/strong>, “cr\u00f3ch an fh\u00f3mhair<\/strong>” is also used for “meadow saffron,” (Colchicum autumnale<\/em>).\u00a0 Some sources tell me that autumn crocus and meadow saffron are the same plant, but as far as I can tell, they have different scientific names, “autumn crocus” being “Crocus nudifloru<\/em>s.”\u00a0 Wikipedia tells me that only C. autumnale<\/em> is native to Ireland and Britain, so presumably, “cr\u00f3ch an fh\u00f3mhair<\/strong>” would be the plant most discussed in this family in Irish.\u00a0 If you’re tr\u00edna ch\u00e9ile<\/strong> with this, mise freisin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Well, that’s our nature terms list for the letter “c”.\u00a0 I hope you found them useful\u00a0 and that unlike the presumed 7-year-olds using the OJD<\/em>, you’ll continue to have some reason to plant these words into your everyday “comhr\u00e1ite<\/strong>” in Irish.\u00a0 SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta<\/strong>: By the way, in the limited amount of time I have to explore the nature terms issue in other languages, I’ve found that Welsh has three words for “catkin” of willow\/sallow (cyw g\u0175ydd, \u00a0g\u0175ydd fach, cenau coed<\/em>) and another three for hazel (the straightforward cenau cyll<\/em> and the more charmingly figurative “cynffon oen bach<\/em>” or “cwt oen bach<\/em>,” both meaning literally “little lamb’s tail”).\u00a0 Given the “lamb’s tail” shape of a fully developed “catkin,” perhaps the “cynffon<\/em>” or “cwt<\/em>” theme could be used for other trees as well.\u00a0 Siaradwyr Cymraeg<\/em>?<\/p>\n

iarbhlaganna sa tsraith seo (nature words)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Bluebell\u2019 or \u2018Broadbrand\u2019: Which Word Should Be in a Children\u2019s Dictionary? \u2014 A British Example and Irish Question<\/a> Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Aug 20, 2019 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

Nature Words: Should They Be in a Children\u2019s Dictionary or Not? Let\u2019s Consider the Irish Word \u201cdearc\u00e1n\u201d (acorn)<\/a> Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Aug 31, 2019 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

Nature Words: the Irish for \u2018almond\u2019 and a baker\u2019s dozen of related terms<\/a> Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Sep 18, 2019 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

Nature Words in Irish, pt. 4: blackberry, budgerigar\/parakeet, buttercup (and bluebell in review)<\/a>Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Sep 30, 2019 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) “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.\u00a0 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…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":11187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[305947,514304,229705,7983,514306,514305,514308,514211,514303,2332,514235,207339,514307],"class_list":["post-11185","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-catkin","tag-cauliflower","tag-chestnut","tag-clover","tag-concaire","tag-conker","tag-crocus","tag-dulra","tag-lambs-tail","tag-nature","tag-ojd","tag-seamair","tag-uilliam"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11185"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11223,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11185\/revisions\/11223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}