{"id":113,"date":"2009-12-14T00:41:38","date_gmt":"2009-12-14T04:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=109"},"modified":"2016-12-22T15:59:20","modified_gmt":"2016-12-22T15:59:20","slug":"an-dreadal-agus-an-roithleagan-rotha-cinealacha-caiseal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/an-dreadal-agus-an-roithleagan-rotha-cinealacha-caiseal\/","title":{"rendered":"An Dr\u00e9adal agus an Roithleag\u00e1n Rotha: Cine\u00e1lacha Caiseal"},"content":{"rendered":"

(le\u00a0R\u00f3isl\u00edn)<\/strong><\/p>\n

A dr\u00e9adal <\/strong>(plural: dr\u00e9adail<\/strong>) is a version of a type of caiseal<\/strong> ([KASH-ul] spinning top) also known as a \u201cteetotum\u201d in English.\u00a0 Interestingly, while the word \u201cdr\u00e9adal<\/strong>\u201d seems to be a recent adaptation in Irish, the Irish word for \u201cteetotum,\u201d roithleag\u00e1n rotha<\/strong>, has been around for a good while.\u00a0 As have teetotums in general — one is depicted in Brueghel\u2019s famous painting, Children\u2019s Games<\/em>, from 1560. \u00a0T\u00e9arma\u00ed suimi\u00fala gach ceann<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cDr\u00e9adal\u201d <\/strong>can be spelled \u201cdreidel,\u201d \u201cdreidle,\u201d or \u201cdreydl\u201d in English and comes from the verb \u201cdreyen<\/em>\u201d (to turn).\u00a0 On each of its four sides is a litir Eabhraise<\/strong> that gives the instructions for what the player is to do (take everything in the \u201cpot,\u201d take half, etc.).\u00a0 The four letters also form a sentence meaning \u201cA great miracle happened here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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While this blog isn\u2019t primarily concerned with <\/span>sanasa\u00edocht an Bh\u00e9arla<\/strong> (English etymology), it\u2019s interesting to note the origin of the word \u201cteetotum,\u201d if only because it\u2019s completely different from the Irish word for the same object.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The side with \u201cT\u201d stood for \u201c<\/span>totum<\/em>\u201d (all, i.e. player takes all) and the other three sides had A (<\/span>aufer<\/em>, take one piece), D (<\/span>depone<\/em>, put a piece in) and <\/span>N<\/strong> (nihil, nothing).<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The \u201ctee-\u201c part just seems to be a prefix added for emphasis.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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That is quite different from the Irish \u201c<\/span>roithleag\u00e1n rotha<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The basic meanings of \u201c<\/span>roithleag\u00e1n<\/strong>\u201d include \u201ccircle,\u201d \u201clittle wheel,\u201d \u201ctwirling\u201d or \u201cwheeling.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I might point out, though, that the more ordinary words for \u201ccircle\u201d and \u201cwheel\u201d are \u201c<\/span>ciorcal<\/strong>\u201d and \u201c<\/span>roth<\/strong>,\u201d respectively, with “roth\u00e1n<\/strong>” for “little wheel.”<\/span>\u00a0 In\u00a0<\/span>fact, if we consider \u201c<\/span>roithleag\u00e1n<\/strong>\u201d simply as a wheel, we\u2019d have a rather repetitive phrase, since “<\/span>rotha”<\/strong> simply means \u201cof a wheel.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>So \u201c<\/span>roithleag\u00e1n rotha,<\/strong>\u201d the Irish for \u201cteetotum,\u201d very literally means \u201ccircle of a wheel,\u201d “little wheel of a wheel,” or \u201ctwirling of a wheel,\u201d etc. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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I wouldn\u2019t say \u201c<\/span>roithleag\u00e1n<\/strong>\u201d is really widely used in Irish, but it does also show up in the phrase \u201c<\/span>roithleag\u00e1n r\u00f3,<\/strong>\u201d which is variously translated as \u201cmerry-go-round\u201d and \u201cwhirligig.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>How \u201c<\/span>roithleag\u00e1n rotha<\/strong>\u201d came to be used for a teetotum, which is four-sided, not round, is <\/span>thar m\u2019eolas<\/strong> (beyond my ken).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Finally, we have the word \u201c<\/span>caiseal<\/strong>\u201d (spinning top, in general), which has perplexed me for years, and still does.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The primary meaning of \u201c<\/span>caiseal<\/strong>\u201d is \u201cstone fort\u201d and it can also mean \u201cboundary wall\u201d and \u201ccastle\u201d in chess terminology (but not in everyday terminology, which uses \u201cc<\/span>aisle\u00e1n<\/strong>\u201d).<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>While those three meanings have a clear continuity, \u201cspinning top\u201d seems completely unrelated.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Of course, there is that folktale where Fionn Mac Cumhaill turns his castle-like home on a mountain peak around so it catches the best light at different times of day,* but somehow I think that the traditional Irish <\/span>caiseal <\/strong>(stone fort) wasn\u2019t meant to be spun around!<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s a widely recognized word, since it\u2019s the origin of the place name Cashel, in Co. Tipperary.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>There\u2019s also a \u201cCashel\u201d in Ontario and one in Minnesota, and even one <\/span>sa tSiomb\u00e1ib<\/strong>, although that one comes from \u201c<\/span>caiseal<\/strong>\u201d as a surname, named after Rowan Cashel, who was a <\/span>Major in the Rhodesian Regiment of the 1st<\/sup> South African Brigade in the WWI era.\u00a0 The<\/span> surname “Cashel” in Irish is <\/span>\u00d3 Caisil<\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But the connection of \u201c<\/span>caiseal<\/strong>\u201d to a spinning top\u201d seems obscure, unless somehow the verb \u201c<\/span>cas<\/strong>\u201d (twist, turn, wind) has gotten enmeshed in this thread of meaning that, on the surface, would seem to derive from \u201ccastle,\u201d \u201c<\/span>castellum<\/em>,\u201d etc. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Anyway, that\u2019s a bit of background to the <\/span>dr\u00e9adal<\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>While the <\/span>dr\u00e9adal<\/strong> seems to be holding its own in this era of electronic toys, when children seem to rarely play with such a simple toy as a spinning top, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen a child play with a non-dreidel teetotum.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Or seen one for sale.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I guess I should Google Toys \u201cR\u201d Us next.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Or better yet, go into an actual store and ask what aisle the teetotums (teetota?) are in.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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One last point of interest (I hope!).<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>On my eternal quest to find interesting uses of Irish words in online contexts, I looked around a bit for <\/span>dr\u00e9adal<\/strong>, but almost nothing came up.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I did find several dozen references, though, to \u201cTracy Reese Dreadal Skirts,\u201d spelling “dreadal” presumably as an English word, with no long mark.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I understand that Reese is a highly successful and celebrated fashion designer, known for her \u201cretro-chic,\u201d but I don\u2019t know how the word \u201cdreadal\u201d fits that picture.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I doubt there\u2019s any connection to <\/span>dr\u00e9adail<\/strong> as such.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Anyone know?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I couldn\u2019t find any fashion industry term \u201cdreadal\u201d that would seem like a <\/span>cine\u00e1l sciorta<\/strong> (type of skirt). <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Curious! \u00a0<\/span>SGF–R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

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N\u00f3ta\u00ed: roithleag\u00e1n<\/span><\/strong> [RIH-lyag-awn, the \u201ct\u201d is silent], Eabhrais<\/strong> [YOW-rish] Hebrew; Eabhraise <\/strong>[YOW-rish-uh] of Hebrew; roth <\/strong>[ruh] wheel; rotha<\/strong> [RUH-huh] of a wheel; an tSiomb\u00e1ib<\/strong> [un TCHIM-baw-ib] Zimbabwe; sciorta<\/strong> [SHKIRT-uh] skirt<\/span><\/p>\n

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*Perhaps the prototype for the revolving summerhouses one sometimes sees in the UK, which are perched on rotating turntables?\u00a0 I\u2019ve never seen one in the US or noticed one in Ireland. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le\u00a0R\u00f3isl\u00edn) A dr\u00e9adal (plural: dr\u00e9adail) is a version of a type of caiseal ([KASH-ul] spinning top) also known as a \u201cteetotum\u201d in English.\u00a0 Interestingly, while the word \u201cdr\u00e9adal\u201d seems to be a recent adaptation in Irish, the Irish word for \u201cteetotum,\u201d roithleag\u00e1n rotha, has been around for a good while.\u00a0 As have teetotums in general…<\/p>\n

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