{"id":2229,"date":"2012-04-27T15:37:27","date_gmt":"2012-04-27T15:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=2229"},"modified":"2015-06-17T14:01:23","modified_gmt":"2015-06-17T14:01:23","slug":"taking-uain-by-the-urla-agus-focail-eile-ar-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/taking-uain-by-the-urla-agus-focail-eile-ar-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking \u201cuain\u201d by the \u201curla\u201d (agus focail eile ar \u201ctime\u201d)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

OK, so what\u2019s that hybrid title all about?\u00a0 The last blog discussed how the word \u201caimsir<\/strong>,\u201d usually meaning \u201cweather,\u201d can also mean \u201ctime\u201d in certain phrases like \u201caimsir na C\u00e1sca<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cin aimsir na bhFiann<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 That got me thinking, how many other ways are there to say \u201ctime\u201d in Irish?<\/p>\n

So I figured I\u2019d carpe<\/em> the old diem<\/em>, since there\u2019s no time like the present, and strike while the iron of vocabulary intrigue is hot.\u00a0 In other words, I\u2019d take \u201ctime\u201d (\u201cuain<\/strong>\u201d) by the \u201cforelock\u201d (\u201curla<\/strong>\u201d).\u00a0 Hmm, that\u2019s as opposed to what, a hindlock? Ah, in Irish, that would have to be the \u201cc\u00fail\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d (hair on the back of the head, ach sin<\/strong>, once again, \u00e1bhar blag eile<\/strong>, especially considering all the rules and regulations pertaining to hair in medieval Ireland).\u00a0 Not that I\u2019ve ever actually heard \u201cc\u00fail\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d translated as \u201chindlock,\u201d in fact, I\u2019ve hardly ever heard \u201chindlock\u201d in English but Googling gives me about 300 samples of it online, mostly pretty obscure stuff.\u00a0 It\u2019s not in any of my hard-copy dictionaries, though, English or Irish.\u00a0 As for taking time by the hindlock, well, \u2026<\/p>\n

Anyway, back to the question, how many ways are there to say \u201ctime\u201d in Irish?\u00a0 This blog will briefly describe a baker\u2019s dozen (that\u2019ll be thirteen), wrapping up with at least a couple of phrases in Irish that are about some aspect of time, but which don\u2019t actually include any of the Irish words for time, including the classic, \u201cTime, gentlemen, please!\u201d and phrases \u201clike \u201cseven times as,\u201d regarding size or amount.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s start at the beginning, with the word usually learned first in most Irish language programs, \u201cam<\/strong>\u201d (pronounced like \u201cahm,\u201d not like the English verb \u201cam\u201d as in \u201cI am\u201d).\u00a0 Here are a few key phrases for \u201cam<\/strong>\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n

1a. C\u00e9n t-am \u00e9?<\/strong> or C\u00e9n t-am at\u00e1 s\u00e9?<\/strong> \u00a0What time is it?\u00a0 You might ask, \u201cWhere\u2019d that \u201ct-<\/strong>\u201c come from?\u201d\u00a0 The same place it came from when we say \u201can t-am<\/strong>\u201d (the time), or for that matter, \u201can t-\u00fall<\/strong>\u201d or \u201can t-or\u00e1iste<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 Since \u201cc\u00e9n<\/strong>\u201d is really a compound of \u201cc\u00e9<\/strong>\u201d + \u201can<\/strong>,\u201d the same rules apply for \u201cc\u00e9n<\/strong>\u201d as apply to \u201can<\/strong>\u201d (c\u00e9n t-am, c\u00e9n t-\u00fall, <\/strong>etc., but c\u00e9n eilifint, c\u00e9n bhean<\/strong>, etc., the latter two having no “t”).<\/p>\n

The usual answer to this is \u201cT\u00e1 s\u00e9 a haon a chlog,<\/strong>\u201d or whatever time it is you wish to say.\u00a0 As in English, we don\u2019t tend to repeat the word \u201ctime\u201d in the answer.<\/p>\n

1b. C\u00e9n t-am ar th\u00e1inig s\u00e9?<\/strong>\u00a0 What time did he come?\u00a0 Note that this question phrase is followed by \u201car th\u00e1inig,\u201d <\/strong>not \u201ca th\u00e1inig,<\/strong>\u201d which can be used elsewhere.\u00a0 We have the same basic set-up for other verbs, that is, the dependent verb form, with \u201ca<\/strong>\u201d in the present and future tenses (C\u00e9n t-am a bhfuil \u2026?\u00a0 C\u00e9n t-am a mbeidh \u2026?<\/strong>), with \u201car<\/strong>\u201d for most past tense verbs (C\u00e9n t-am ar ith s\u00e9?\u00a0 C\u00e9n t-am ar \u00f3l s\u00e9?<\/strong>) and with \u201ca<\/strong>\u201d for some of the past tense irregulars (C\u00e9n t-am a raibh \u2026?\u00a0 C\u00e9n t-am a ndeachaigh \u2026?<\/strong>).\u00a0 There are various interpretations of this rule, but my understanding is that the idea is \u201cat what time did he come,\u201d triggering the dependent form, as opposed to a question such as \u201cC\u00e9n t-am at\u00e1 s\u00e9?<\/strong>\u201d (where \u201cs\u00e9<\/strong>\u201d equals the time) or \u201cC\u00e9n t-am at\u00e1 feili\u00fanach?<\/strong>\u201d (where the adjective \u201cfeili\u00fanach<\/strong>\u201d describes the time).\u00a0 Those two examples use \u201cat\u00e1<\/strong>,\u201d the independent form of the verb.<\/p>\n

Now, how about the other twelve words for time?\u00a0 Here goes, in alphabetical order,\u00a0 which means that \u201caga<\/strong>,\u201d probably the most obscure of them, happens to come first. \u00a0I\u2019m sure there are more possibilities but this should be go leor<\/strong> for now:<\/p>\n

2. aga<\/strong>, a period of time, an interval, as in \u201cCaith aga leis!<\/strong>\u201d (Take your time with it!)<\/p>\n

3. aimsir<\/strong>, time, as in this proverb in slightly archaic Irish , \u201cDo b\u2019fh\u00e9idir do luch\u00f3ig le haimsir c\u00e1bla do ghearradh ar a dh\u00f3<\/strong>\u201d (In time, i.e. given enough time, a mouse may bite a cable in two).\u00a0 “Aimsir<\/strong>” also means \u201ctense\u201d for verbs and \u201ctime of year.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. cian<\/strong>, a length of time, an age, as in \u201c\u00f3 na ciantaibh<\/strong>\u201d (from time immemorial) or \u201d\u00f3 chianaibh<\/strong>\u201d (a while ago), both still used but featuring the archaic dative plural (\u2013ibh<\/strong> ending)<\/p>\n

5. faill<\/strong>, time, occasion, opportunity, chance, \u00a0as in \u201cag feitheamh na faille<\/strong>\u201d (playing for time) or \u201cnuair a bheidh faill agam<\/strong>\u201d (when I have a chance\/the time)<\/p>\n

6. linn<\/strong>, a space or period of time, as in \u201cidir an d\u00e1 linn<\/strong>\u201d (in the meantime, lit. between the two time periods)<\/p>\n

7. r\u00e9<\/strong>, portion or period of time, as in \u201ci r\u00e9 Iorua<\/strong>\u201d (in the time of Herod); \u201cr\u00e9<\/strong>\u201d also means \u201cspace\u201d and \u201cmoon\u201d (although \u201cmoon\u201d is more typically \u201cgealach<\/strong>\u201d)!\u00a0 Another way to say “Herod” is “H\u00e9ar\u00f3d<\/strong>” (with “H\u00e9ar\u00f3id<\/strong>” for “of Herod”), but “Iorua<\/strong>” is a traditional form of the name.<\/p>\n

8. saol<\/strong> [seel OR sayl], time, as in \u201car na saolta seo<\/strong>\u201d (in these times, nowadays); in different contexts, also means \u201clife,\u201d \u201cworld,\u201d and \u201call creation\u201d<\/p>\n

9. seal<\/strong> [shal], time, spell, stint, as in \u201cdo sheal a chur isteach ar na b\u00e1id<\/strong>\u201d (to do your stint of time on the boats)<\/p>\n

10. tr\u00e1th<\/strong> [traw], time, hour, occasion, as in \u201ci dtr\u00e1tha na Nollag<\/strong>\u201d (around Christmas) or \u201cTr\u00e1th na gCeist<\/strong>\u201d (Question Time, a quiz show)<\/p>\n

11. tr\u00e9imhse<\/strong>, period or term of time, as in \u201csa tr\u00e9imhse a bh\u00ed dlite<\/strong>\u201d (in the time that was allotted).\u00a0 Sometimes, more specifically, \u201ca three-month period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

12. uain<\/strong>, time, interval of time, opportune time, as in \u201car uainibh<\/strong>\u201d (by turns, at times, occasionally; with the old dative plural ending, -ibh<\/strong>) or \u201cbreith ar an uain ar an urla<\/strong>\u201d (to take time by the forelock, lit. to take “on” the time “on” the forelock)<\/p>\n

13. uair<\/strong>, time, hour, season, as in \u201can uair seo den bhliain<\/strong>\u201d (this time of (the) year) or \u201cbaois na huaire<\/strong>\u201d (the folly of the times).\u00a0 This is probably the most commonly used of all of these twelve examples, occurring in widely in expressions such as \u201cC\u00e9n uair<\/strong> \u2026?\u201d (When \u2026?) and \u201ctr\u00ed huaire<\/strong>\u201d (three times).\u00a0 Occasionally it can also be used for \u201cweather,\u201d in a neat reversal of the \u201caimsir<\/strong>\u201d time-weather continuum.<\/p>\n

Well, sin tr\u00ed fhocal d\u00e9ag ar<\/strong> \u201ctime.\u201d\u00a0 So, which of these do we use in Irish for \u201cTime, gentlemen, please!\u201d\u00a0 Well, at least according to standard lexicography, none of them.\u00a0 The phrase \u201cCaithig\u00ed siar iad!<\/strong>\u201d (lit. drink them back\/down) suffices.\u00a0 Of course, these days, the phrase shouldn\u2019t be limited to \u201cgentlemen,\u201d but should instead perhaps be phrased as \u201cgentlepeople,\u201d or, perhaps more colloquially, as \u201cfolks.\u201d\u00a0 Or drop out the vocative, and just leave the imperative (in Irish) or the noun with verb implication (\u201ctime,\u201d i.e. \u201cdrink up\u201d)<\/p>\n

We could ask, though, is this phrase even needed these days, now that pubs have all kinds of hours?\u00a0 And how did it come about anyway?\u00a0 Well, the origins probably go back to beginnings of the registration of drinking hours (whenever that was), but I did discover one new piece of the puzzle, albeit a very English one.\u00a0 Time, Gentlemen, Please!<\/em> was the name of a 1952 movie, set in the fictitious village of \u201cLittle Hayhoe\u201d (no less!) and starring Eddie Byrne (the Dublin actor) as an archetypal boozy but sly old codger who gets the \u201cluck of the Irish\u201d in this quintessentially English setting, with half-timbering and all.\u00a0 The movie also features Hermione Baddeley, Raymond Lovell, and Sid James, in case you\u2019re interested.\u00a0 How the Irish character ends up in Hayhoe is never stated but the story is mildly amusing, if we can forgive the stereotyping.<\/p>\n

Another \u201ctime\u201d expression in English, which is \u201ctime-less\u201d in Irish is \u201cseacht n-oiread an m\u00e9id sin<\/strong>,\u201d where both \u201coiread<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cm\u00e9id<\/strong>\u201d mean \u201camount.\u00a0 So the full phrase would be translated as \u201cseven times as much\u201d or \u201cseven times that amount.\u201d\u00a0 More literally, but a bit awkwardly, I\u2019d say, \u201cseven amounts of that amount.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, that\u2019s thirteen ways to say time in Irish, plus a couple of extra expressions, and I\u2019m sure there are more.\u00a0 Keep in mind that most of these words have multiple meanings, and may well be translated in other ways than \u201ctime.\u201d\u00a0 But that\u2019s all we have time for in one blog.\u00a0 Maybe we\u2019ll return to this topic am \u00e9igin eile<\/strong> (some other time).\u00a0 SGF, R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) OK, so what\u2019s that hybrid title all about?\u00a0 The last blog discussed how the word \u201caimsir,\u201d usually meaning \u201cweather,\u201d can also mean \u201ctime\u201d in certain phrases like \u201caimsir na C\u00e1sca\u201d and \u201cin aimsir na bhFiann.\u201d\u00a0 That got me thinking, how many other ways are there to say \u201ctime\u201d in Irish? So I figured…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[1873,359613,4018,211583,359611,359614,359609,332133,211591,359604,359606,211590,359610,359612,359607,359608,384258,211589,156,359605,211588,211585,211592],"class_list":["post-2229","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-actor","tag-aga","tag-aimsir","tag-am","tag-bhfiann","tag-cian","tag-eddie-byrne","tag-fianna","tag-forelock","tag-hayhoe","tag-hermione-baddeley","tag-hindlock","tag-little-hayhoe","tag-oiread","tag-raymond-lovell","tag-sid-james","tag-stair","tag-take-time-by-the-forelock","tag-time","tag-time-gentlemen","tag-uain","tag-uair","tag-urla"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229","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=2229"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6822,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229\/revisions\/6822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}