{"id":7959,"date":"2016-05-27T04:27:06","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T04:27:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=7959"},"modified":"2016-10-05T11:30:14","modified_gmt":"2016-10-05T11:30:14","slug":"an-caisearbhan-the-dandelion-cuid-2-other-names-for-dandelion-in-irish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/an-caisearbhan-the-dandelion-cuid-2-other-names-for-dandelion-in-irish\/","title":{"rendered":"An Caisearbh\u00e1n (The Dandelion), Cuid 2: Other Names for ‘Dandelion’ in Irish"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"grianghraf:<\/a>

grianghraf: http:\/\/www.publicdomainpictures.net\/view-image.php?image=247, le Petr Kratochvil<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Last time we looked at the word most typically taught for “dandelion” (caisearbh\u00e1n<\/strong> [kah-SHAR-uh-vawn]) and checked out its interesting etymology (cos<\/strong>, foot,\u00a0<\/strong>or maybe gas<\/strong>, stem + searbh<\/strong>, bitter + -\u00e1n<\/strong>).\u00a0 Today we’ll look at the different ways this word can be used in sentences or phrases, and then we’ll move on to some other names for the same plant.<\/p>\n

“Caisearbh\u00e1n<\/strong>” follows the same pattern as words like “cup\u00e1n<\/strong>” or “c\u00e1b\u00e1n<\/strong>,” and it’s masculine (grammatically):<\/p>\n

an caisearbh\u00e1n<\/strong>, the dandelion<\/p>\n

caisearbh\u00e1in<\/strong>, of a dandelion (bl\u00e1thcheann caisearbh\u00e1in<\/strong>, a dandelion flower head)<\/p>\n

an chaisearbh\u00e1in<\/strong>, of the dandelion (blas dhuilleoga an chaisearbh\u00e1in<\/strong>, the taste of the leaves of the dandelion)<\/p>\n

And since we rarely see just one dandelion growing in our lawn:<\/p>\n

caisearbh\u00e1in<\/strong>, dandelions<\/p>\n

na caisearbh\u00e1in<\/strong>, the dandelions<\/p>\n

caisearbh\u00e1n<\/strong>, of dandelions<\/p>\n

na gcaisearbh\u00e1n<\/strong>, of the dandelions<\/p>\n

You might like to compare those forms with, for example, cup\u00e1n: an cup\u00e1n, cup\u00e1in, an chup\u00e1in<\/strong>, and pl: cup\u00e1in, na cup\u00e1in, cup\u00e1n, na gcup\u00e1n<\/strong>.\u00a0 You might have heard the last in that series in the title of the song, “Amhr\u00e1n na gCup\u00e1n<\/strong>” (The Cup Song, lit. the song of the cups), for which I have provided a nasc, th\u00edos<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here are a few more sentences to practice (freagra\u00ed agus aistri\u00fach\u00e1in th\u00edos):<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) T\u00e1 blas searbh ar dhuilleoga an _____.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2) Is f\u00e9idir f\u00edon a dh\u00e9anamh as _________.<\/strong><\/p>\n

3) Is f\u00e9idir duilleoga an _________ a \u00fas\u00e1id i sail\u00e9ad.<\/strong><\/p>\n

4) N\u00e1 hith duilleoga na \u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad______________sin.\u00a0 Sprae\u00e1ladh lotnaidic\u00edd orthu.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having said all of that, there are a few names for dandelions that are based on entirely different concepts:<\/p>\n

a) bior na brighde<\/strong>, or in modern spelling, “bior na br\u00edde<\/strong>.” As far as I can tell, this phrase could have two different origins, depending on which “bior<\/strong>” is intended. One set of meanings for “bior<\/strong>” can mean “skewer,” “lance,” “bar,” etc., and the other, a completely different word, means “water,” “well,” or “stream. ”\u00a0 For the latter, I’d add that “bior<\/strong>” isn’t the most typical word for any of these; the more typical choices would be “uisce<\/strong>,” “tobar<\/strong>,” and ‘sruth\u00e1n<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

The word “brighde<\/strong>” or “br\u00edde<\/strong>” here looks like it comes from “brighid<\/strong>,” meaning “a maiden” or “a fair lady.” \u00a0The possessive form is “brighde<\/strong>” or, in modern spelling, “br\u00edde.” \u00a0<\/strong>There’s probably a connection here to St. Bridget (Brighid<\/strong> or Br\u00edd<\/strong>, but the exact nature isn’t clear. \u00a0A generalization from the saint’s name? \u00a0A saint’s name based on the general term?<\/p>\n

In theory, “bior na br\u00edde<\/strong>” could mean the “lance\/skewer of the maiden.”\u00a0 Hmm. \u00a0Sounds more like “Brynhildr” than “Bridget” to me!<\/p>\n

“Bior<\/strong>,” referring to water, is used in the name of several plants but usually as a prefix and usually with plants clearly connected to water: bior-shl\u00e1nlus<\/strong> (water plantain) and biorchop\u00f3g<\/strong> (water dockleaf), mar shampla<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0If this is our origin, then the phrase should mean something like “the water of the maiden” or “the well of the maiden.” \u00a0Hmmmm.<\/p>\n

I’ve seen a few spellings of this which capitalize the “b” of “brighde \/ br\u00edde<\/strong>,” making it look as if the word had to do with “Naomh Br\u00edd<\/strong>\u00a0\/ Naomh Brighid<\/strong> (St. Bridget), but then why would we have the word “na<\/strong>” in the middle of the phrase (bior na<\/em> br\u00edde<\/strong>)? \u00a0Normally there would never be a “na<\/strong>” in that position in the sentence.<\/p>\n

I also wonder if the “brighde<\/strong>” part could somehow be related to “br\u00ed<\/strong>,” meaning “a hill” or “a brae.”\u00a0\u00a0 That word used to have a “-gh” in the form “breagh<\/strong>” (of a hill, of a brae) and also in its old dative form, “br\u00edgh<\/strong>.” \u00a0In that case, we might have “the lance of the hill.”\u00a0 That seems like a good plant name, but where would the “-de<\/strong>” come from? \u00a0N\u00edl a fhios agam<\/strong>. \u00a0BTW, probably the most familiar use of “br\u00ed<\/strong>” today is in the place name “Br\u00ed Cualann<\/strong>” (Bray, in Co. Wicklow).<\/p>\n

Bhuel,<\/strong> admittedly, that’s not very conclusive, and I don’t find any quick answers online.\u00a0 But at least we’ve planted the idea as food for thought. \u00a0And now for three more, which fortunately aren’t as ambiguous:<\/p>\n

b) fiacail leomhain (leoin)<\/strong>, which actually matches the original French “dent de leon<\/em>”<\/p>\n

c) be\u00e1rn\u00e1n be\u00e1rnaigh<\/strong> or be\u00e1rn\u00e1n be\u00e1rnach<\/strong>, lit. “gapped little gap” or “indented little gap,” or “little gap of the gapped one” or “little gap of the indented one.” Uh, got me there!\u00a0 BTW, “be\u00e1rn\u00e1<\/strong>n” is usually “bearn\u00e1n<\/strong>” these days. \u00a0From “bearna<\/strong>” (a gap, as in Barna, Co. Galway).<\/p>\n

d) bearn\u00e1n brighde<\/strong>, “little gap of … whatever “brighde<\/strong>” means here. Curiously, this phrase\u00a0can also be used for “juniper.” A luibheolaithe<\/strong>, we really need you here!<\/p>\n

Scottish Gaelic has some interesting similar phrases: bearnan br\u00ecde, bior nam br\u00ecde,<\/em> and fiacal leomhain<\/em><\/p>\n

For some pan-Celtic comparison and intriguingly, here are some Welsh versions: dant y llew<\/em> (the tooth of the lion), which is the most basic, and also “dant y ci<\/em>” (the tooth of the dog), dail clais<\/em> (leaves of a bruise, not, apparently, “of a ditch,” another meaning of “clais<\/em>,” similar to the Irish), blodyn faint ‘dy’r gloch<\/em> (lit. “what-time-is-it” flower), blodyn crafu<\/em> (itchy flower), blodyn crach<\/em> (scab flower), blodyn piso’n y gwely, blodyn pisho’n gwely<\/em>, and blodyn pi-pi gwely<\/em>.\u00a0 \u00a0The last three are probably fairly self-explanatory.<\/p>\n

Bhuel, sin a l\u00e1n ainmneacha ar an<\/strong> “dandelion.”\u00a0 Oh, and I almost forgot, its ainm d\u00e9th\u00e9armach<\/strong> is “Taraxacum officinale<\/em>.”\u00a0 “Taraxacum<\/em>” may either come from the Arabic “Tharakhchakon<\/em>” or the Greek “Tarraxos<\/em>.” \u00a0Sl\u00e1n go f\u00f3ill – R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Freagra\u00ed agus Aistri\u00fach\u00e1in:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) T\u00e1 blas searbh ar dhuilleoga an chaisearbh\u00e1in.\u00a0<\/strong> There is a bitter taste on the leaves of the dandelion.<\/p>\n

2) Is f\u00e9idir f\u00edon a dh\u00e9anamh as caisearbh\u00e1in.<\/strong>\u00a0 It’s possible to make wine from dandelions.<\/p>\n

3) Is f\u00e9idir duilleoga an chaisearbh\u00e1in a \u00fas\u00e1id i sail\u00e9ad.<\/strong>\u00a0 It’s possible to use the leaves of the dandelion in a salad.<\/p>\n

4) N\u00e1 hith duilleoga na g\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00adcaisearbh\u00e1n sin.\u00a0 Sprae\u00e1ladh lotnaidic\u00edd orthu<\/strong>.\u00a0 Don’t eat those dandelions.\u00a0 A pesticide was sprayed on them.<\/p>\n

Nasc d’Amhr\u00e1n na gCup\u00e1n:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=X1YzUc3g6EU (le focail an amhr\u00e1in scr\u00edofa amach)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nasc ginear\u00e1lta<\/strong>:\u00a0https:\/\/williamrubel.com\/2015\/04\/23\/the-history-of-the-garden-dandelion\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn)   Last time we looked at the word most typically taught for “dandelion” (caisearbh\u00e1n [kah-SHAR-uh-vawn]) and checked out its interesting etymology (cos, foot,\u00a0or maybe gas, stem + searbh, bitter + -\u00e1n).\u00a0 Today we’ll look at the different ways this word can be used in sentences or phrases, and then we’ll move on to…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":7961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[460395,4277,4308,460382,460381,307178,460405,4376,460406,460400,460402,4397,303055,460425,460420,460389,111761,460392,460387,4459,4460,460393,460398,4461,460412,460399,460353,4598,460418,460416,460391,4867,460411,460410,460408,460413,4981,460414,460404,460377,460407,460397,5314,460383,460384,460394,460422,269696,460385,460417,460386,251440,460378,460380,460379,5902,298420,6219,460424,460423,460421,6663,460419,460396,460374,460376,274003,460375,7595,460403,460401,7296,460415,460390],"class_list":["post-7959","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-amhran-na-gcupan","tag-barna","tag-bearna","tag-bearnach","tag-bearnaigh","tag-bearnan","tag-bearnan-bride","tag-bior","tag-bior-nam-bride","tag-bior-shlanlus","tag-biorchopog","tag-blas","tag-blath","tag-blathcheann","tag-blodyn","tag-brae","tag-bray","tag-breagh","tag-bri","tag-bride","tag-bridget","tag-brigh","tag-brighde","tag-brighid","tag-bruise","tag-brynhildr","tag-caisearbhan","tag-ceann","tag-crach","tag-crafu","tag-cualann","tag-cupan","tag-dail-clais","tag-dant-y-ci","tag-dant-y-llew","tag-ditch","tag-dog","tag-faint-dyr-gloch","tag-fair-lady","tag-fiacail","tag-fiacal","tag-fion","tag-galway","tag-gap","tag-gapped","tag-gcaisearbhan","tag-gwely","tag-hill","tag-indented","tag-itchy","tag-juniper","tag-leaves","tag-leoin","tag-leomhain","tag-leon","tag-lion","tag-maiden","tag-naomh","tag-pi-pi","tag-pisho","tag-piso","tag-saint","tag-scab","tag-searbh","tag-taraxacum-officinale","tag-tarraxos","tag-taste","tag-tharakhchakon","tag-tooth","tag-water-dockleaf","tag-water-plantain","tag-welsh","tag-what-time-is-it","tag-wicklow"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7959","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=7959"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8454,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7959\/revisions\/8454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}