{"id":7796,"date":"2016-03-27T01:53:22","date_gmt":"2016-03-27T01:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=7796"},"modified":"2016-04-02T01:55:41","modified_gmt":"2016-04-02T01:55:41","slug":"naoimh-neimhe-neimhe-and-nimhe-and-what-does-any-of-this-have-to-do-with-saint-patrick-cuid-2-as-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/naoimh-neimhe-neimhe-and-nimhe-and-what-does-any-of-this-have-to-do-with-saint-patrick-cuid-2-as-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Naoimh, Neimhe, N\u00e9imhe, and Nimhe — and what does any of this have to do with Saint Patrick?\u00a0 (Cuid 2 as 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"No,<\/a>

No, n\u00ed ‘Niamh’ n\u00e1 ‘Naomh’ n\u00e1 “Neamh” at\u00e1 i gceist anseo ach ‘nimh.’ Cad a thugtar ar fhroganna mar seo? L\u00e9igh leat le f\u00e1il amach! (grafaic: By Alessandro Catenazzi (http:\/\/calphotos.berkeley.edu) [CC BY-SA 2.5 (http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.5) or CC BY-SA 2.5 (http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons)<\/em><\/p><\/div>We interrupted our “Naoimh, Neimhe, N\u00e9imhe, Nimhe” sequence (nasc th\u00edos) <\/strong>for an Easter preview, but now let’s go back to wrap up this thrilling excursion through the genitive case, stopping at the second declension.\u00a0 The second who?\u00a0 It’s a category of nouns in Irish with similar endings to show possession and plural and other features.\u00a0 The concept of “declension” exists in Latin and in a few other languages (like Ancient Greek and Sanskrit), but not in Modern English, or Welsh, or Spanish, or French.\u00a0 T\u00e1 sampla\u00ed Laidine th\u00edos m\u00e1s mian leat breathn\u00fa orthu<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“Naomh<\/strong>,” as in “Naomh P\u00e1draig<\/strong>,” was a nice example of a 1st-declenion noun in Irish.\u00a0 Most, virtually all nouns in this category (maybe all?), form their genitive case by adding or inserting an “i” before the final consonant.\u00a0 A classic example is “ar\u00e1n<\/strong> (bread; blas an ar\u00e1in<\/strong>, the taste of<\/em> the bread), with the “i” telling us we’re talking about the taste “of” the bread.”\u00a0 So we’re not always dealing with ownership as such, with the genitive, but sometimes with a quality pertaining to the subject.\u00a0 One more example before we finish reviewing “naomh <\/strong>and the first declension,” would be “r\u00f3n<\/strong>” (seal, the animal that is; smugairle r\u00f3in<\/strong>, a seal’s thick spittle, and this phrase is also used, aptly enough, for a jelly-fish).\u00a0 Back to “naomh<\/strong>,” the genitive case is “naoimh<\/strong>,” with the inserted “i,” giving us the word for “of a saint.” \u00a0In certain combinations, like “tuama an<\/em> naoimh<\/strong>,” it can mean “of the<\/em> saint” (tuama an naoimh<\/strong>, the tomb of the saint).<\/p>\n

Now for our remaining three words: neimhe, N\u00e9imhe<\/strong>, and nimhe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1) neamh,<\/strong> Heaven<\/p>\n

neimhe<\/strong>, of Heaven.\u00a0 Pronunciation tip: the “mh” here is like a “v” and the “ei” is as in “let” or net,” not like the English or German “ei” as in “weird” or “Einstein.”<\/p>\n

sampla: R\u00ed neimhe<\/strong>, King of Heaven<\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta maidir le ceannlitri\u00fa an fhocail seo<\/strong>: For Irish, in most, if not all, examples of this word that I can recall, “neamh<\/strong>” is not capitalized but for English, it is<\/em> traditionally capitalized.\u00a0 My personal preference is just to follow what is typical for each language.\u00a0\u00a0 Curiously (i mo bhar\u00fail f\u00e9in ar a laghad<\/strong>), a different Irish word for “Heaven” is sometimes but not always capitalized: na Flaithis<\/strong>, or na flaithis<\/strong>.\u00a0 With the meaning of “Heaven,” “Flaithis<\/strong>” is also inherently plural, so we use a plural form (sna<\/strong>) to say “in Heaven,” that is, “sna Flaithis<\/strong>.”\u00a0 In the singular, “flaitheas<\/strong>” can have a variety of less theological meanings, like “rule” or “kingdom.”<\/p>\n

FYI: Since we’re talking about “heaven,” it’s worth noting that where English typically says “in<\/em> Heaven,” Irish typically says “ar neamh<\/strong>” (lit. on<\/em> heaven).\u00a0 As in “\u00c1r nAthair at\u00e1 ar neamh<\/strong> …”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2) Niamh<\/strong> [neev or nee-uv], a girl’s name meaning “brightness,” “brilliance,” or, if you like, “refulgence”<\/p>\n

N\u00e9imhe<\/strong> [Ny<\/sup>AYV-uh], of Niamh.<\/p>\n

\u00e1illeacht N\u00e9imhe<\/strong>, the beauty of Niamh<\/p>\n

“N\u00e9imhe<\/strong>” is the traditional form to show possession, but there is a trend just to keep “Niamh<\/strong>” as is. So we might have “\u00e1illeacht N\u00e9imhe<\/strong>” when talking about the beauty of Niamh Chinn \u00d3ir in the ancient story of Ois\u00edn in T\u00edr na n\u00d3g.\u00a0 But it wouldn’t surprise me to see “f\u00f3n p\u00f3ca Niamh<\/strong>” (Niamh’s mobile phone) when using the name in a modern context.<\/p>\n

This spelling, “N\u00e9imhe<\/strong>,” is also being used as a name in its own right.\u00a0 A recent Google search indicated some interesting results, including Facebook sites maintained by women named “N\u00e9imhe<\/strong>,” and an intriguing-sounding article quoting a six-year-old Neimhe Ni Bhrogain [sic, that is, with no long marks]: “Why I like My School: Neimhe Ni Bhrogain, Aged Six, Is a P3 Pupil at Gaelscoil Ul [sic] Dhochartaigh, Strabane, Co Tyrone” (nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>).\u00a0 So why does<\/em> she like her school?\u00a0 She says, “I really like my school because I get to speak Irish all the time and I love the language.”\u00a0 Way to go, a N\u00e9imhe<\/strong>!\u00a0 And since that article was written in 1999, that N\u00e9imhe would be about 17 now.\u00a0 C\u00e1 bhfuil t\u00fa anois, a N\u00e9imhe<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

Going back to the original spelling, and some anglicizations, there is an interesting discussion of “Niamh<\/strong>” (Neve, etc.) at the “behindthename” website.\u00a0 Opinions are mostly positive (“gorgeous,” “beautiful,” “mysterious”) but occasionally scathing and vitriolic (“ugly,” “ugly looking” — mh’anam, a deirimse, c\u00e9n chaoi a bhfuil “cuma ghr\u00e1nna” ar ainm? \u00a0N\u00edl sa “chuma” ach litreacha! N\u00edor chuala m\u00e9 a leith\u00e9id de bhinb faoi ainm riamh!<\/strong>). \u00a0A few commentators are somewhat negative but more pragmatically, calling the name a “pronunciation nightmare” or an “issue” or comparing it to NiMH batteries).\u00a0 Do bhar\u00failse?\u00a0 Nasc thios<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Of course, there’s always a chance that someone could be named “Neimh<\/strong>e,” either deliberately without the long mark or to mean “of Heaven.”\u00a0 After all, the newish girl’s name “Nevaeh” has risen in popularity in the United States faster than any other name in the history of the Social Security Administration, which is a useful source for studying baby name trends (foinse agus nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

Bhuel<\/strong>, that’s a lot of food for thought, especially for anyone on our list who’s contemplating baby names.\u00a0 Meanwhile, an tr\u00ed\u00fa focal<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3) nimh <\/strong>[niv, with a short “i” sound as in “in” or “give”], poison<\/p>\n

nimhe<\/strong> [NIV-uh], of poison<\/p>\n

Sampla\u00ed<\/strong>, sometimes actually translated as “poison” and sometimes translated with related terminology: ionad nimhe<\/strong>, a poison center; nathair nimhe<\/strong>, a venomous serpent; baoite nimh<\/strong>, poisoned bait; gaoth nimhe<\/strong>, a bitter wind; roc an gha\u00a0<\/strong>nimhe<\/strong>, stingray, and irresistibly, frog nimhe leislonrach<\/strong>, brilliant-thighed poison frog<\/p>\n

So there we have them, a series of words from three blog posts, which sound somewhat similar but mean completely different things: naomh (naoimh), neamh-, neamh (neimhe), Niamh (N\u00e9imhe) <\/strong>and , nimh (nimhe)<\/strong>.\u00a0 And if that’s not enough, we could dip back to Old Irish with the following:<\/p>\n

for saint: no\u00edb, noeb, noiba, no\u00edbu, noibaib, noem, naeb, naem, naemh, naomh, n\u00e1oime, n\u00e1oimh, n\u00e1omha, noemu, no\u00edm<\/em><\/p>\n

for Heaven: nem, nnem, nim, nime, nimae, neme, nimi, neamh, nimh, nimhe, nimib<\/em><\/p>\n

for Niamh: niamh, n\u00edamh, niab, N\u00edamh<\/em><\/p>\n

and for poison: neime, nime, nim, neim.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bottom-line moral of the story?\u00a0 Irish nouns usually have at least twice as many forms as English ones do, and in many cases, all the different forms can be lenited or eclipsed, further increasing the ways we spell or pronounce the word.\u00a0 This blog post has dealt with one set of similar-sounding words, comparing their meanings and pronunciations in various contexts.\u00a0 T\u00e1 s\u00fail agam go raibh s\u00e9 seo suimi\u00fail duit.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

And what did all of this have to do with St. Patrick?\u00a0 Our discussion started with “naomh<\/strong>,” the Irish word used to say “St. Patrick” (Naomh P\u00e1draig<\/strong>).\u00a0 SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta:<\/strong> here are some samples of Latin words, indicating declension: ebriosus<\/em> (2nd-declension masculine), crapula <\/em>(1st-declension feminine) and\u00a0 aethanolum<\/em> (2nd-declension neuter).\u00a0 And what do they mean?\u00a0 Ebriosus<\/em>, m, a drunkard; crapula, intoxication, a hangover; aethanolum,<\/em> ethanol.<\/p>\n

Naisc: <\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Nasc do na hiarbhlaganna (luaite thuas): \u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/naoimh-neimhe-neimhe-and-nimhe-and-what-does-any-of-this-have-to-do-with-saint-patrick-cuid-1-as-2\/, Naoimh, Neimhe, N\u00e9imhe, and Nimhe\u00a0 \u2014 and what does any of this have to do with Saint Patrick?\u00a0 (Cuid 1 as 2)<\/a> Posted on 20. Mar, 2016 by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/naomh-neamh-neamh-niamh-nimh-which-one-pertains-to-st-patrick-and-how-do-you-pronounce-them\/, Naomh, Neamh, Neamh-, Niamh, Nimh \u2014 Which One Pertains to St. Patrick and How Do You Pronounce Them?<\/a>\u00a0Posted on 17. Mar, 2016 by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

2)\u00a0 Nasc don alt faoi Ghaelscoil U\u00ed Dhochartaigh:<\/strong>\u00a0 https:\/\/www.highbeam.com\/doc\/1G1-60159208.html (subscription required), n\u00f3 b’fh\u00e9idir i gc\u00e1rtlann an<\/strong> Sunday Mirror (London, England), foilsithe 7 Feabhra 1999<\/strong>
\n3) Nasc do chomhr\u00e1 faoin ainm “Niamh”:<\/strong> http:\/\/www.behindthename.com\/comment\/view.php?name=niamh<\/p>\n

4) Nasc d’alt faoin ainm “Nevaeh”: http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2006\/05\/18\/us\/18heaven.html?ei=5090&en=586bf7606929a614&ex=1305604800&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1190335759-6iNHl71nPS+bE\/fs72\/bfA&_r=0, And if It’s a Boy, Will It Be Lleh? By JENNIFER 8. LEE Published: May 18, 2006. \u00a0The article traces the popularity of the name following its use by Christian metal singer Sonny Sandoval, for his daughter, now about 16 years old.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) We interrupted our “Naoimh, Neimhe, N\u00e9imhe, Nimhe” sequence (nasc th\u00edos) for an Easter preview, but now let’s go back to wrap up this thrilling excursion through the genitive case, stopping at the second declension.\u00a0 The second who?\u00a0 It’s a category of nouns in Irish with similar endings to show possession and plural and…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":7799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[191238,440072,365221,196907,274839,307182,6219,6230,365219,439753,411278,411279,434023,434670,6663,439862,6935],"class_list":["post-7796","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-backwards","tag-brilliance","tag-flaitheas","tag-heaven","tag-name","tag-naoimh","tag-naomh","tag-neamh","tag-neimhe","tag-nevaeh","tag-niamh","tag-nimh","tag-nimhe","tag-poison","tag-saint","tag-sandoval","tag-st-patrick"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7796","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=7796"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7802,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7796\/revisions\/7802"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}