{"id":4703,"date":"2013-12-14T21:21:48","date_gmt":"2013-12-14T21:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=4703"},"modified":"2017-01-10T19:01:54","modified_gmt":"2017-01-10T19:01:54","slug":"speaking-of-pigeons-coluir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/speaking-of-pigeons-coluir\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaking of Pigeons (Col\u00fair)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"Pigeons<\/a>

Pigeons in a Piggin! (for which the Irish is not quite so alliterative but is nevertheless informative: Col\u00fair i Morn\u00e1n. A ‘morn\u00e1n’ or ‘piggin’ is a type of pail with an upright stave instead of a traditional handle. An bhfaca t\u00fa morn\u00e1n riamh? \u00a0I’m not sure what the smaller bird is — bar\u00fail ar bith agatsa?<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

I’ll leave journalists Sean Dunne (IrishCentral<\/em>) and Liz Alderman (New York Times<\/em>) to “squabble” over the accuracy of the recent reference in the New York Times<\/em> to “pigeon-eating” in Ireland.\u00a0 But it does seem to me like a good opportunity to explore the related Irish vocabulary (naisc do na hailt th\u00edos<\/strong>).\u00a0 So we’ll look at the Irish words for “pigeon,” “dove,” and yes, “squab.”<\/p>\n

The topic is particularly intriguing (domsa, ar a laghad<\/strong>) because of the linguistic distinctions between pigeons and doves … or the lack thereof.<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, the Irish word “colm<\/strong>” [say: KOL-um, two syllables, like English “column”] means both “dove” and “pigeon,” but usually implies “dove.”\u00a0 It is perhaps best known in the Irish context as part of the name of St. Columba (“Colm Cille<\/strong>,” dove of the church, in Irish). \u00a0The Irish word “col\u00far<\/strong>,” in contrast, is usually translated as “pigeon” but is sometimes translated as “dove.”<\/p>\n

I suppose the ultimate connection is found in the two Irish words for “rock-dove”: colm aille<\/strong> and col\u00far aille<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0Of course, that’s literally “cliff-dove\/pigeon,” apparently named for its practice of nesting in nooks and crannies in cliffs, instead of making traditional nests.\u00a0 The rock-doves have adapted this practice to skyscrapers as well, and the urban rock-dove figures metaphorically in Marie Jones’s aptly named 2010 play, Rock Doves<\/em> (http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/09\/18\/theater\/reviews\/18rock.html<\/a>).\u00a0 Jones may be more familiar to readers from her Broadway\/West End hit, Stones in his Pockets<\/em>, which, btw, is soon to be a movie, starring Boyzone singer Ronan Keating and Game of Thrones<\/em>‘ Conleth Hill (http:\/\/www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk\/entertainment\/film-tv\/news\/stones-in-his-pockets-rolling-on-to-a-big-screen-near-you-29562851.html<\/a>).\u00a0 That should be interesting — scann\u00e1n bunaithe ar dhr\u00e1ma at\u00e1 bunaithe ar scann\u00e1n br\u00e9ige at\u00e1 bunaithe, ar bhealach, ar dhearbhscann\u00e1n<\/strong> (.i. The Quiet Man<\/em>).<\/p>\n

The word “colm<\/strong>” is related to the Latin “columba<\/em>” (dove, pigeon) which provides us with a slew of spin-off words and place names in English and other languages: columbine, columbarium, Columbia, Colombia, Columbus, and Columba, the constellation.\u00a0 In Irish, related words include:<\/p>\n

Colm<\/strong>, a popular name for men (Colm Meaney, etc.)<\/p>\n

colm\u00e1n<\/strong>, little dove, little pigeon, also used as a man’s name<\/p>\n

colmlann<\/strong>, a dove-cot (aka dove-cote)<\/p>\n

lus an choilm<\/strong>, columbine, lit. the plant of the dove<\/p>\n

As for “col\u00far<\/strong>,” it also gives us the word “col\u00farphost<\/strong>,” (pigeon-post) although I don’t think there’s much call for that anymore, given “t\u00e9acs\u00e1il<\/strong>” and “r\u00edomhphost<\/strong>” (aka “r-phost<\/strong>“).<\/p>\n

C\u00fapla cine\u00e1l colm agus col\u00far:<\/strong><\/p>\n

colm imirce<\/strong>, passenger pigeon, lit. “dove\/pigeon of migration,” speiceas at\u00e1 imithe in \u00e9ag anois<\/strong> (although there is a movement to Jurassic-Parkishly revive the species (http:\/\/articles.washingtonpost.com\/2013-07-08\/national\/40434945_1_passenger-pigeon-woolly-mammoth-de-extinction<\/a>).\u00a0 R.I.P. Martha, an colm imirce deireanach ar an tsaol (de r\u00e9ir cos\u00falachta; fuair s\u00ed b\u00e1s i z\u00fa i Cincinnati ar an 1d l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed Mhe\u00e1n F\u00f3mhair, 1914<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

“Passenger Pigeons” were also known in English as “Wood Pigeons” and “Wild Pigeons.”\u00a0 If the North American and European meanings are the same, then “colm coille<\/strong>” would also mean “passenger pigeon.”\u00a0 “Colm coille<\/strong>,” lit. “dove\/pigeon of the forest” is also used for “ring-dove” and “wood-pigeon.”\u00a0 Dove … pigeon … mh’anam<\/strong>.\u00a0 Bottom line, though — note the importance of the “broad c” and “slender c” pronunciations in distinguishing “colm<\/strong>” of the “church” (Colm Cille<\/strong>) from “colm<\/strong>” of the woods” (colm coille<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

col\u00far frithinge<\/strong> or colm frithinge<\/strong>, homing pigeon.\u00a0 Some related words are “frithingi\u00fa<\/strong>” (reciprocation, especially as used in engineering) and “frithing<\/strong>” in the phrase “i bhfrithing<\/strong> [iv-RIH-hing]” (in the reverse direction).<\/p>\n

col\u00far teachtaireachta<\/strong>, carrier-pigeon, lit. “pigeon of message”<\/p>\n

Going farther afield, we also have \u201dcol\u00far<\/strong>” used for at least one sea-bird, “col\u00far toinne<\/strong>” (black guillemot, lit. “pigeon of the wave”).<\/p>\n

As for “stool-pigeon,” there is an Irish expression that also includes “pigeon,” somewhat unusual when translating idioms. \u00a0In Irish a “col\u00far cluana<\/strong>” is literally a “pigeon of deception” (cf. lacha cluana<\/strong>, decoy-duck) \u00a0But the “stool-pigeon” as a person is more typically “maide br\u00e9agach<\/strong>” (trap-stick, lit. false stick).<\/p>\n

There are two ways to say “clay pigeon,” one with the word “pigeon” embedded (cr\u00e9chol\u00far<\/strong>) and the other without (cr\u00e9phl\u00e1ta,<\/strong> lit. clay-plate).<\/p>\n

“Pigeonhole” (small compartment in a desk, etc.) in Irish doesn’t refer to pigeons at all.\u00a0 It is simply “poll cl\u00f3is\u00e9id\u00edn<\/strong>” (little cabinet hole).<\/p>\n

The “turtledove” has a unique name in Irish, “fear\u00e1n<\/strong>,” with no reference to “coilm<\/strong>” or “col\u00fair<\/strong>,” or for that matter, “turtair<\/strong>.”\u00a0 But then turtledoves don’t have anything to do with turtles either; they’re simply called that because of onamataip\u00e9<\/strong>\u00a0 since the cooing noise they make that sounds like “turrr-turrr”.\u00a0 You might remember some discussion of this from the “Dh\u00e1 L\u00e1 Dh\u00e9ag na Nollag<\/strong>” blogs of 2010 (https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/dha-la-dheag-na-nollag-the-twelve-days-of-christmas\/<\/a>)<\/p>\n

And a final item of lexicographical interest.\u00a0 I’m still pondering the Irish for “pigeon flute,” being fascinated by this musical instrument since I was a teenager, when, at some used book sale, I stumbled upon the an unusual pamphlet published in 1938, “Peking Pigeons and Pigeon-Flutes: A Lecture Delivered at the College of Chinese Studies.” It was written by the intriguingly named “Harned Pettus Hoose.” \u00a0I imagine “fli\u00fait chol\u00fair<\/strong>” would do the trick, but would welcome other suggestions.\u00a0 If it’s considered more a whistle than a flute, it could be a “fead\u00f3g chol\u00fair<\/strong>.” \u00a0And if pigeon-flutes have really piqued your interest, you might want to check out http:\/\/www.windmusik.com\/html\/pigflut.htm<\/a> or the English version http:\/\/www.windmusik.com\/html\/pigflut.htm#Carried<\/a>.\u00a0 The small clay flutes are fastened to the pigeon (!) and as the pigeon flies, the air goes through the flute and makes a musical or whistling sound.\u00a0 To which I can only add, who’duh thunk it.<\/p>\n

As for “squab,” I’d say the word is more straightforward in Irish than in English.\u00a0 It’s \u201d\u00e9an coilm<\/strong>” or “\u00e9an col\u00fair<\/strong>.”\u00a0 While “\u00e9an<\/strong>” basically means “bird,” it is also used to indicate the young of various bird species, sort of comparable to “chick” in English. \u00a0Getting back to the culinary aspect of this blog, it’s interesting that “squab” has that sort of elite-vocabulary gourmet-terminology je ne sais quoi about it and apparently, as dinner, commands high prices in upscale restaurants. \u00a0But I don’t personally think seeing “\u00e9an coilm<\/strong>” on a biachl\u00e1r<\/strong> in Irish would appeal to me.\u00a0 Visions of too much \u00e9in\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong> cuteness.\u00a0 But eating pigeon, as cited in the New York Times<\/em> article, certainly raised a ruckus that I believe is still going on.\u00a0 And so far no one, as far as I can tell, is eating crow about it.\u00a0 But that idiom will have to wait for blag \u00e9igin eile.\u00a0 Sl\u00e1n go f\u00f3ill, R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Naisc<\/strong>:\u00a0http:\/\/www.irishcentral.com\/news\/Irish-outrage-over-NY-Times-pigeon-eating-and-desperate-economic-times-article-235717001.html<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/12\/12\/business\/international\/as-bailout-chapter-closes-hardships-linger-for-irish.html?hpw&rref=business<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) I’ll leave journalists Sean Dunne (IrishCentral) and Liz Alderman (New York Times) to “squabble” over the accuracy of the recent reference in the New York Times to “pigeon-eating” in Ireland.\u00a0 But it does seem to me like a good opportunity to explore the related Irish vocabulary (naisc do na hailt th\u00edos).\u00a0 So we’ll…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":4711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[306239,306224,3081,1938,306204,306146,306188,274928,306202,306234,4673,306134,306190,306181,306208,306138,306191,306226,306119,306136,306132,306186,306194,306173,306159,306160,306164,61191,306123,306131,306155,306156,306154,60859,306120,306137,306206,306193,306201,306203,306168,306212,229919,306149,229684,306219,306209,306210,306153,306207,13298,306151,306122,306133,306165,306166,290068,306231,306232,306236,306235,306230,306215,306228,306198,306196,306148,306227,306195,306199,306176,5665,306126,306124,306905,306161,306162,306127,306167,306163,306141,306179,255079,2301,107,306222,306139,306192,306218,306223,306174,306183,306225,306121,306221,306129,306169,306211,306238,306213,306172,306197,306200,306178,306187,306171,306143,306135,306150,306147,306152,6729,306125,306240,299563,306189,2540,306175,306130,306128,306145,306205,306170,7095,306220,306216,2597,306214,9595,13,306144,292952,306185,306184,306233,89393],"class_list":["post-4703","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-1-mean-fomhair-1914","tag-306224","tag-3081","tag-bird","tag-black-guillemot","tag-boyzone","tag-broad-c","tag-broadway","tag-carrier-pigeon","tag-chick","tag-church","tag-church-dove","tag-cill","tag-cincinnati","tag-clay-pigeon","tag-cliff","tag-coill","tag-college-of-chinese-studies","tag-colm","tag-colm-aille","tag-colm-cille","tag-colm-coille","tag-colm-frithinge","tag-colm-imirce","tag-colm-meany","tag-colman","tag-colmlann","tag-colombia","tag-coluir","tag-columba","tag-columbarium","tag-columbia","tag-columbine","tag-columbus","tag-colur","tag-colur-aille","tag-colur-cluana","tag-colur-frithinge","tag-colur-teachtaireachta","tag-colur-toinne","tag-colurphost","tag-compartment","tag-conleth","tag-conleth-hill","tag-constellation","tag-cooing","tag-crecholur","tag-crephlata","tag-dearbhscannan","tag-deception","tag-dha-la-dheag-na-nollag","tag-dhrama","tag-dove","tag-dove-of-the-church","tag-dove-cot","tag-dove-cote","tag-ean","tag-ean-coilm","tag-ean-coluir","tag-eat-crow","tag-einini","tag-feadog-choluir","tag-fearan","tag-fliuit-choluir","tag-frithing","tag-frithingiu","tag-game-of-thrones","tag-harned-pettus-hoose","tag-homing-pigeon","tag-i-bhfrithing","tag-imithe-in-eag","tag-ireland","tag-irishcentral","tag-journalist","tag-jurassic-parkishly","tag-little-dove","tag-little-pigeon","tag-liz-alderman","tag-lus-an-choilm","tag-mans-name","tag-marie-jones","tag-martha","tag-metaphor","tag-migration","tag-movie","tag-musical-instrument","tag-nest","tag-new-york-times","tag-onamataipe","tag-pamphlet","tag-passenger-pigeon","tag-passenger-pigeons","tag-peking-pigeons-and-pigeon-flutes","tag-pigeon","tag-pigeon-flute","tag-pigeon-eating","tag-pigeon-post","tag-pigeonhole","tag-play","tag-poll-cloiseidin","tag-r-phost","tag-reciprocation","tag-reverse-direction","tag-revive","tag-ring-dove","tag-riomhphost","tag-rock-doves","tag-rock-dove","tag-ronan","tag-ronan-keating","tag-scannan-breige","tag-sea-bird","tag-sean-dunne","tag-september-1st-1914","tag-skyscraper","tag-slender-c","tag-species","tag-speiceas","tag-squab","tag-squabble","tag-stones-in-his-pockets","tag-stool-pigeon","tag-teacsail","tag-the-quiet-man","tag-turrr-turrr","tag-turtair","tag-turtle","tag-turtledove","tag-urban","tag-vocabulary","tag-west-end","tag-whistle","tag-wild-pigeon","tag-wood-pigeon","tag-young","tag-zu"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4703","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=4703"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8808,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4703\/revisions\/8808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}