{"id":4951,"date":"2014-02-14T18:06:27","date_gmt":"2014-02-14T18:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=4951"},"modified":"2015-02-11T15:38:41","modified_gmt":"2015-02-11T15:38:41","slug":"an-bhfuil-do-ghlas-crochta-gra-crochta-agat-fos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/an-bhfuil-do-ghlas-crochta-gra-crochta-agat-fos\/","title":{"rendered":"An bhfuil do ghlas crochta crochta agat f\u00f3s?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"C\u00e9<\/a>

C\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad glas gr\u00e1 at\u00e1 crochta ar Dhroichead na Leathphingine (Ha’penny) aka Droichead na Life (Liffey)?<\/p><\/div>\n

No, that’s not an overlooked duplication of words.\u00a0 “Glas crochta<\/b>” is a padlock (hmm, guess why that<\/em> topic came up in today’s blog!) and “crochta<\/b>” means “hung” or “hanging,” from the verb “croch<\/b>” (hang).<\/p>\n

First let’s discuss the word “glas<\/b>,” since it’s a triple homonym in Irish.\u00a0 One “glas<\/b>” means “green.”\u00a0\u00a0 A second “glas<\/b>,” our topic today, means “a lock.”\u00a0 And a third, much less commonly used in my experience, is “glas<\/b>” meaning “rivulet” or “stream.”\u00a0 I guess I use this last “glas<\/b>” about as often as I use the word “rivulet” in English.\u00a0 I’ve seen it often enough, somewhere in with the “rocks and rills,” or maybe the “freshets,” and yes … Wordsworth to the rescue (“It was an April morning: fresh and clear \/ The Rivulet, [capitalized, no less!<\/em>] delighting in its strength, \/ Ran with a young man’s speed; …).\u00a0 But I rarely, if ever, really use “<\/i>rivulet.”<\/p>\n

Getting back to “glas<\/b>” (a lock), we now modify the word to mean “padlock,” as opposed to other types, such as a “glas cip<\/b>” (wooden-bolt lock on a door) or “glas gunna<\/b>” (a gun-lock).\u00a0 \u00a0Since a padlock hangs from the item to be locked, it’s called a “glas crochta<\/b>” [glahss KROKH-tuh].\u00a0 A “love lock” would be “glas gr\u00e1<\/b>” and a “love padlock” would be “glas crochta gr\u00e1<\/b>.” \u00a0Alternatively, we could use “seirce<\/b>” or “ceana<\/b>” or “p\u00e1irte<\/b>” for “of love,” \u00a0but I like the “glas\/gr\u00e1<\/b>” near-alliteration.<\/p>\n

In preparing this blog, I actually looked into what the “pad-” part of “padlock” really signifies.\u00a0 And lo and behold, the considered opinion of various lexicographers and etymologists is … inconclusive!\u00a0 Several sources just leave it as “unknown.”\u00a0 Wiktionary suggests several origins.\u00a0\u00a0 One is from “pad” (a gate, which must either be some dialect or obscure English, at any rate, I’ve never encountered this usage, as best I can remember). \u00a0\u00a0Another specifies a gate opening to a path, the “path” possibly being called a “pad”.\u00a0 And, in a completely different vein, the “pad” of a lock might come from a dialect version of the word “pannier.”\u00a0 Etymologically speaking, I’m underwhelmed by the possibilities.<\/p>\n

At any rate, it seems clear that whatever “pad” contributes to “padlock,” it’s completely different from the Irish modifier, “crochta<\/b>.”\u00a0 So let’s look a little further at that.\u00a0 As a noun, “croch<\/b>” can mean “gallows,” “cross” (which is also “cros<\/b>” or “crois<\/b>“), “hook”, and “hanger.”\u00a0 As a verb, “croch<\/b>” means “hang” and a variety of related words (hoist, \u00a0raise up, lift, and, regarding anchors, weigh, plus, in seeming contrast, regarding cards, throw down).\u00a0 Prepositions often provide the final coup de poing<\/i> for Irish verb phrases, changing the meaning seemingly drastically, so “Croch leat<\/b>!” means “Clear off!” (literally “hang \/ lift with<\/i> you,” maybe a reference to lifting your feet high and skedaddling).<\/p>\n

As an adjective, “crochta<\/b>” can mean “hung” or “hanging,” as noted above, and also “hanged” when serving as a past participle (aidiacht bhriathartha<\/b>).\u00a0 A few examples include:<\/p>\n

crochta os cionn na sorn\u00f3ige<\/b>, hanging (or hung) above the stove<\/p>\n

coir chrochta<\/b>, a hanging offence<\/p>\n

comhla chrochta<\/b>, a hanging door<\/p>\n

cluasa crochta<\/b>, ears that hang down (hmm, an difear idir sin agus “spadchluasach”? difear ar bith?<\/b>)<\/p>\n

fuarthas crochta \u00e9<\/b>, he was found hanging (hanged); “Se\u00e1n an Fiantachta\u00ed” san \u00farsc\u00e9al Saol \u00darnua<\/i> de chuid <\/b>Aldous Huxley, mar shampla<\/b> (not that it’s been translated in Irish yet, fad m’eolais<\/b>)<\/p>\n

Also: aill chrochta<\/b>, an overhanging cliff<\/p>\n

As for the notorious idea of the “hanging judge,” that’s a “crochad\u00f3ir breithimh<\/b>,” almost the opposite structure grammatically of the English.\u00a0 “Crochad\u00f3ir<\/b>” means “hangman” and “breithimh<\/b>” means “of a judge,” or in a Celtic context, “of a brehon.”<\/p>\n

It’s a bit intriguing that “crochta<\/b>” can mean both “hung” and “hanging.”\u00a0 But there’s also the phrase “ar crochadh<\/b>” for “hanging,” for when something is in a hanging position.\u00a0 \u00a0A “hanging stair” for example is “staighre ar crochadh<\/b>” but a “hanging door” is “comhla chrochta<\/b>.”\u00a0 Maidir le “comhla”<\/b> vs. “doras,”<\/b> remember that although we widely use “doras<\/b>” for the whole ensemble (comhla, ursain, tairseach, srl<\/b>.), “comhla<\/b>” is really the “leaf” of the door.<\/p>\n

Bhuel,<\/b> that’s quite a bit for “croch<\/b>” in general.\u00a0 Cad faoin ngrianghraf (an picti\u00far thuas)?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bridge you see in the \u00a0picture above is “Droichead na Leathphingine<\/b>” (aka Droichead na Life<\/b> aka Ha’penny Bridge aka The Liffey Bridge) in Dublin.\u00a0 It’s one of many global “love lock” locations which have now become popular places for couples to place a lock and throw away the key (usually into a body of water) as a proclamation of their love for each other.\u00a0 Sometimes that’s to the consternation of the civil engineers, etc., ach sin sc\u00e9al eile<\/b>.<\/p>\n

By now you may have figured out that the title of this blog means “Have you hung\u00a0your padlock yet?\u00a0 As for the romance aspect of all this, let’s hope that all these love-locked relationships work out, and that no one is left “hanging.” \u00a0Especially all you “geanphear\u00f3id\u00ed<\/strong>” and “\u00e9anacha s\u00fair\u00ed<\/b><\/strong>“\u00a0<\/b><\/strong>(love-birds) out there this Valentine’s season (s\u00e9as\u00far Vailint\u00edn)<\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/strong>SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

P.S. And by the way, I couldn’t resist adding that “hang-dog” looks in Irish aren’t “hang.”\u00a0 They can be “caillte<\/b>” (lost) as in “dreach caillte<\/b>” (a lost look) or “sn\u00e1mhach<\/b>” (sneaking) as in “gotha an tsn\u00e1mha\u00ed<\/b>” (the gesture of the sneak).\u00a0 So, btw (a d\u00f3<\/b>!), a “sn\u00e1mha\u00ed<\/b><\/b>” is a “sneak” (or a creeper, crawler, or dawdler) but a “sn\u00e1mh\u00f3ir<\/b>” is a “swimmer.”\u00a0 Except when in some dialect usages, a “sn\u00e1mha\u00ed<\/b>” could also be used for a “swimmer,” as per Focl\u00f3ir U\u00ed Dh\u00f3naill<\/b> (All hail!)<\/p>\n

P.P.S.\u00a0 There’s another word for “padlock” in Irish which is “glas frainc\u00edn<\/b>,” but I’ve yet to figure out the “frainc\u00edn<\/b>” part, unless, by some slim chance, it has to do with “fraince\u00e1il<\/strong>” (“franking,” as in stamps).\u00a0 Eolas ag duine ar bith<\/b>?\u00a0 Nothing I’ve looked at so far suggests an explanation of “frainc\u00edn<\/b>” used with “glas<\/strong>.” \u00a0So “croch<\/b>” seems to have provided a lot more \u00e1bhar machnaimh<\/b> and thus, thereby hangs the above “sc\u00e9al<\/b>.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

\u00a0(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) No, that’s not an overlooked duplication of words.\u00a0 “Glas crochta” is a padlock (hmm, guess why that topic came up in today’s blog!) and “crochta” means “hung” or “hanging,” from the verb “croch” (hang). First let’s discuss the word “glas,” since it’s a triple homonym in Irish.\u00a0 One “glas” means “green.”\u00a0\u00a0 A second…<\/p>\n

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