{"id":3270,"date":"2012-09-30T21:12:58","date_gmt":"2012-09-30T21:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=3270"},"modified":"2014-03-25T12:55:12","modified_gmt":"2014-03-25T12:55:12","slug":"na-ceithre-sheasur-the-four-seasons-in-gaeilge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/na-ceithre-sheasur-the-four-seasons-in-gaeilge\/","title":{"rendered":"Na Ceithre Sh\u00e9as\u00far (The Four Seasons, in Gaeilge)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Before completely leaving an f\u00e9ilire<\/strong>, the subject of the last four blogs, let’s take a look at the Irish words for the four seasons.\u00a0 In addition, we’ll look at the adjectives pertaining to winter, spring, summer, and autumn\/fall, both in their classy Latinate versions, like “(a)estival,” and in the more everyday tone, like “summery.”<\/p>\n

Seo na s\u00e9as\u00fair, mar ainmfhocail<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

geimhreadh<\/strong>, winter; an geimhreadh<\/strong>, the winter [GEV-ruh or GEV-roo or GEER-uh, depending on, you guessed it, can\u00faint<\/strong> (dialect)]<\/p>\n

earrach<\/strong>, spring; an t-earrach<\/strong>, the spring, an tEarrach<\/strong>, with no fleisc\u00edn<\/strong>, when capitalized [AR-ukh]<\/p>\n

samhradh<\/strong>, summer; an samhradh<\/strong>, the summer [SOW-ruh or SOW-roo]<\/p>\n

f\u00f3mhar<\/strong>, autumn, fall, harvest-time; an f\u00f3mhar<\/strong>, the autumn, the fall, the harvest-time [FOH-wirzh]<\/p>\n

Irish tends to just use one core concept or word-root to make the adjective based on the season (like “geimhr<\/strong>-” for both “hibernal” and “wintry”) unlike English which applies at least two different core concepts for different contexts (“vernal equinox” but “spring chicken”).\u00a0 Actually looking at all these words in context could take at least blag amh\u00e1in eile<\/strong>, but I figure this is at least a start:<\/p>\n

geimhri\u00fail<\/strong>, hibernal and geimhreata<\/strong>, wintry (more or less interchangeable though some more exploration would be needed to be more specific)<\/p>\n

earrach\u00fail<\/strong>, vernal or springlike<\/p>\n

samhrata<\/strong>, (a)estival or summery, with samhr\u00fail<\/strong> as a variation (can’t say I’ve ever had much reason to use either!)<\/p>\n

f\u00f3mharach<\/strong>, autumnal\u00a0 A related adjective, “f\u00f3mhar\u00fail<\/strong>,” has a slightly different nuance: “pertaining to the harvest,” also, in an extended meaning, “diligent.” \u00a0“F\u00f3mharach<\/strong>” could also be used for “fall-like” in the American sense (hmmm, I’ll have to check on na Ceanadaigh<\/strong>, unless a Ceanadach<\/strong> on this list can fill us in on the fall vs. autumn question).\u00a0 That could be, for example, for “fall-like weather,” which might be said when it’s not quite fall (or autumn) yet.\u00a0 Of course that would depend on whether you use the traditional Celtic calendar, where an F\u00f3mhar<\/strong> consists of L\u00fanasa, Me\u00e1n F\u00f3mhair<\/strong>, and Deireadh F\u00f3mhair<\/strong>.\u00a0 Or whether you waited for c\u00f3nocht an fh\u00f3mhair<\/strong> (the autumnal equinox, or even more literally, the “co-night” of the autumn, logically enough).<\/p>\n

For all four seasons, the actual noun can sometimes be used as an attributive adjective.\u00a0 That will mean putting it in the genitive case, with an “i” inserted, as in “gaoth earraigh,” “glanadh an earraigh,” “lonn\u00fa geimhridh,” “do l\u00e1 f\u00f3mhair”<\/strong> (figuratively: your lucky day), or “c\u00farsa samhraidh<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

A couple of related verbs:<\/p>\n

geimhri\u00fa<\/strong>: to hibernate or to “winter”<\/p>\n

samhr\u00fa<\/strong>: to estivate (aestivate) or to “summer”<\/p>\n

earrach\u00fa<\/strong>: to vernalize (kudos to anyone who can find a good comhth\u00e9acs<\/strong> for this, i nGaeilge n\u00f3 i mB\u00e9arla<\/strong>!)<\/p>\n

Curiously, I don’t see any basis for a verb “to autumnate” or an Irish equivalent, although there is the Latin verb, “autumnare<\/em>” (to bring on or cause autumn).\u00a0 \u00a0Eolas ag duine ar bith ar an liosta faoi sin<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

Oh, I just found a reference to “autumnalized pumpkin butter” online, but it’s one of a handful of uses of “autumnalize.” \u00a0Unusual, but sounds blasta<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Bhuel, sin \u00e9 do na s\u00e9as\u00fair<\/strong> (the seasons)!\u00a0 But not for “seasonings<\/em>,” which would be “blaistithe<\/strong>” (from “blaisti\u00fa<\/strong>,” to season, cf. blas<\/strong>, taste, accent).\u00a0 And that’s a whole different kettle of fish, and needless to say, \u00e1bhar blag eile.\u00a0 SGF, R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Before completely leaving an f\u00e9ilire, the subject of the last four blogs, let’s take a look at the Irish words for the four seasons.\u00a0 In addition, we’ll look at the adjectives pertaining to winter, spring, summer, and autumn\/fall, both in their classy Latinate versions, like “(a)estival,” and in the more everyday tone, like…<\/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":[15,315930,315901,315888,315889,12030,315917,315895,315906,315905,4396,315892,4397,315907,1977,315890,230022,315908,4620,315914,96683,58,315912,5034,315903,5035,315921,315900,11201,315918,111064,5207,111051,315916,315919,315909,111059,315928,315896,315926,315910,230024,315927,315897,99,315911,315913,5952,96671,315931,111046,315920,315899,315923,117777,6750,1317,6918,315925,1327,315922,274003,230021,315893,315902,315904,315898,315924,315915,992,315929],"class_list":["post-3270","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-accent","tag-aestival","tag-aestivate","tag-ainmfhocail","tag-an-t-earrach","tag-autumn","tag-autumnal","tag-autumnalized-pumpkin-butter","tag-autumnare","tag-autumnate","tag-blaistithe","tag-blaistiu","tag-blas","tag-bring-on-autumn","tag-calendar","tag-canuint","tag-capitalized","tag-cause-autumn","tag-celtic","tag-cursa-samhraidh","tag-deireadh-fomhair","tag-dialect","tag-do-la-fomhair","tag-earrach","tag-earrachu","tag-earrachuil","tag-estival","tag-estivate","tag-fall","tag-fall-like","tag-feilire","tag-fleiscin","tag-fomhar","tag-fomharach","tag-fomharuil","tag-gaoth-earraigh","tag-geimhreadh","tag-geimhreata","tag-geimhriu","tag-geimhriuil","tag-glanadh-an-earraigh","tag-harvest-time","tag-hibernal","tag-hibernate","tag-latin","tag-lonnu-geimhridh","tag-lucky-day","tag-lunasa","tag-mean-fomhair","tag-pumpkin-butter","tag-samhradh","tag-samhrata","tag-samhru","tag-samhruil","tag-seasoning","tag-seasuir","tag-spring","tag-spring-chicken","tag-springlike","tag-summer","tag-summery","tag-taste","tag-tearrach","tag-to-season","tag-to-summer","tag-to-vernalize","tag-to-winter","tag-vernal","tag-vernal-equinox","tag-winter","tag-wintry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t