10 great Irish words you may not have heard before

Analysis: from súgach and seachran to báiní and báire baoise, 10 words and phrases to add to your lexicon

As Lá Fhéile Pádraig approaches and with Seachtain na Gaeilge in full swing, people will naturally reach for a few words of Irish, just as they'll seek out something green to wear. A cynic might dismiss this as shallow symbolism, but the popularity of Darach Ó Séaghdha’s Motherfoclóir highlights that the general public has an appetite for regularly engaging with Irish in small, manageable installments.

Academics have a role to play here too. The excellent A History of Ireland in 100 Words reminds us of the centrality of the Irish language to understanding our past. Have you wondered why the word for province (of which there are four) means 'fifth’? Or what was the Irish word once for that most basic of words, ‘yes’, is conspicuously absent from the modern language? If so, consult the latter publication! To tide you over, here are 10 words and phrases which don’t appear in that book, but are of interest in their own right.

Súgach

The likely outcome of drowning the shamrock, not in an extreme way, more ‘mellow with drink’ as per Ó Dónaill’s dictionary. It can also mean ‘cheerful, happy’, as in An Spailpín Fánach, whose protagonist was súgach sásta on the day he enlisted (but not for long), or the women in Cearc agus Coileach who were súgach go leor after consuming a coileach breá ramhar.

We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

Ó RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh, Siún Ní Dhuinn agus Tom Ó Brannagáin ag caint ar an leabhar nuafhoilsithe, Motherfoclóir le Darach Ó Séaghdha

Díth céille

'Lack of sense’, which accompanies acts done whilst súgach. Díth, ‘loss, deprivation, destruction’, is used in many expressions in Irish, like the common Ulster phrase de dhíth ar ‘to need’. The recently digitised Foclóir Mháirtín Uí Chadhain is an incredible lexicographical resource and contains some colourful examples of díth céille, like the reason the unfortunate Murchadh lost his finger.

Ball

Nothing to do with sports, ball’s basic meaning is ‘limb, member, bodily organ’, hardly anything to get enthused about. But when appearing in the phrase ar ball, it means something else altogether, referring to the time an event takes place. If the accompanying verb is in the past tense, ar ball means ‘a while ago’, whereas with a future tense verb it means ‘later on’.

Báiní

Irish has a long history of borrowing words from Latin. Much basic vocabulary relating to religion and literacy, for example, consists of Latin loan words. These often look quiet similar in both languages, like leabhar (liber) and beannacht (benedictio). The great scholar Brian Ó Cuív maintained that báiní, found in the phrase (dul) le báiní ‘to become furious’, is ultimately based on the Latin word ‘mania’, which English also borrowed. In Irish, the first letter of this word became b, but sources in the Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language also show earlier examples beginning with m.

We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

From RTÉ Radio 1's Today show, Sharon Arbuthnot talks about her book A History Of Ireland In 100 Words

N’fheadar

Technically, it's two words (ní and feadar), but normal speech often reduces ní here to n’, with the result that it sounds like a single word. Typically used in Munster Irish, this way of saying ‘I don’t know’ is based on a verb that must have been common amongst the entire population of the island at some point, given the abundance of examples in the historical Dictionary.

Seachrán

It means 'wandering, straying; aberration, error, delusion; derangement, distraction’. In the Irish tradition, seachrán came to be associated with certain types of composition where the lead character, fittingly, goes astray. One famous example combining song and recitation concerns Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, and was recorded by Joe Heaney and other sean-nós singers. In 19th century Anglo-Irish literature, seachrán was the basis for the title of a hit play by Dion Boucicault.

Báire baoise

The dictionaries provide two main translations of this phrase, the ominous-sounding ‘a wild or wanton course’, and the more benign ‘youthful folly’. Variants of this phrase occur in texts as old as the 12th century. Báire baoise itself is found from the 15th century onwards, and in modern dialects. One such text is Séathrún Céitinn’s lengthy meditation on death, Trí Biorghaoithe an Bháis, sobering reading for those harbouring regrets about ag imirt a mbáire baoise. An annotated extract, with translation, can be read on the indispensable Léamh site.

We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

From RTÉ Radio 1's Ray D'Arcy Show, broadcaster Sinead Ní Uallacháin talks about the nation's favourite Irish words

Gealach

The most familiar word for ‘moon’, having largely ousted older ré and luan. Worthy of inclusion for Flann O'Brien/Brian Ó Nualláin/Myles na gCopaleen’s oft-cited faux-despair on encountering the entry in Pádraig Ó Duinnín’s monumental dictionary: ‘gealach… the moon; the white circle in a slice of a half-boiled potato or turnip’.

Mac léinn

Speaking of Myles, he once penned a humorous tribute to some of the foremost Celtic Scholars of the 20th century, beginning ‘My song is concernin’/ Three sons of great learnin’/ Binchy and Bergin and Best’. ‘Sons of learning’ translates mac léinn (singular), the masculine form of the word ‘student’ (iníon léinn ‘daughter of learning’ is the feminine). As language evolves to become more inclusive, the ranks of mic and iníonacha léinn may require the addition of further terms to reflect increasing recognition of gender fluidity.

Eo

Homonyms are words that look and sound the same, but have different meanings, like ‘pen’ (either the writing instrument, or the animal enclosure) or ‘bark’ (the outer layer of a tree, or what dogs do). The word bradán is well known, especially from versions of the salmon of knowledge tale. In older literature we find another word for salmon, eo. Another eo also existed, meaning ‘yew tree’, and appears in placenames like Maigh Eo. To use eo in either of these senses, piscine or arboreal, isn’t common nowadays, but don’t let that stop you!

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ