Irisleabhar na Gaedhilge/Imleabhar 5/Uimhir 5/Notes and Queries

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Irisleabhar na Gaedhilge, Imleabhar V, Uimh. 5
Notes and Queries
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NOTES AND QUERIES.

(23) See proverb No. 30 (May). Is not aḋarta the same as hiarta (probably a barbarism) = hearth? Finian Lynch. Aḋarta for aḋart ‘pillow’? The Waterford word for ‘hob’ is hiarta, obviously the English ‘hearth.’—An Buinneán Aoraċ.


(24) See proverb No. 46 (May), sgaṁaiġ. Sgeaṁaiġil (gen. -le) = ‘yelping,’ hence ‘using cutting words.’ Perhaps sgaṁaiġ is the same as sguḃaiġ ‘uncover, unsheath’: do sguḃaiġ sé a ḟiacla, ‘he unsheathed (i.e., showed) his teeth, grinned.’ We have a proverb in Iveragh—gáire Sacsanaiġ, dranntán madraiḋ, ceann tairḃ, deireaḋ staile,—sin ceiṫre neiṫe le naċ ceart ionntaoiḃ do ṫaḃairt, ‘a Saxon’s laugh, a dog’s grin, a bull’s head, a stallion’s rear, these are four things that ought not to be trusted.’ Sgaiṁ = ‘grin’ is very common: ‘do ċuir sé sgaiṁ air féin,’ ‘he put a grin on himself’—Finian Lynch. Sgaṁaiġ: compare scaman = ‘lung,’ sgaṁ (Coneys), ‘a lobe of the lungs.’ In Waterford, sgeaṁaiġil = ‘loud full-chested barking.’ Sgaṁaiġ therefore dative of sgaṁaċ (verbal noun); an gaḋar (do) sgaṁaiġ ort = ‘the dos to yelp at you.’—An Buinneán Aoraċ.


(25) Proverb No. 93 (May). The proverb is here (in Uiḃ Reaṫaċ) ‘beirt ḃan nó ḋá ġé ḋeug.’ The story is that, one night as an old fox and a cub were prowling along a lane, they heard a great noise from within a fence. “Cad é seo?” said the cub. “Eist!” replied the old fox, “tá beirt ḃan ann, nó ḋá ġé ḋeug.”Finian Lynch.

(26) Geaṁ-oiḋċe (May, p. 26 and note) is still used in Iveragh, but in the sense of ‘long night.’ When people are watching by a sick bed on a winter’s night, one is sometimes heard to say to another, ‘O! ’sí seo an ġeaṁ-oíḋċe le taḃairt suas againn!’ ‘Oh, this is the long night for us to spend up.’ The expression ‘geaṁ-oíḋċe na gceudta mbliaḋan,’ ‘long night of the hundreds of years’ is often heard.—Finian Lynch.


(27) Proverb No. 12 (May): “Biḋeann an ḟírinne searḃ go minic, arsa’ ċloċ laḃrais ag preabaḋ.” Cloċ laḃrais stands by the road from Carrick to Dungarvan, not far from Cúl na hEorna. Ages ago, on being sworn upon falsely, it burst in two.—An Buinneán Aoraċ.


(28) Proverb No. 53 (May): a beggar in Comeragh once said:—

Dá ḃfuiġḃinn-se duineantaċt, b’ ḟuiris do riar
mé,
Agus focal deiġ-ṁilis ní ḃriseann sé fiacail.

An Buinneán Aoraċ.


(29) The other day I heard from an old man the word cúil-leusaiḋe, meaning ‘one who looks with covetous eyes on things put away in corners. &c,’ from cúil, ‘a corner,’ and leus, ‘a look, a glance.’ Cúil-leusaiḋeaċt expresses the action.—P. C.


(30) We owe the following to a Scottish friend: (a) In most of Scotland an dé, an diu, are said, but in Skye an a né, a niu, as in Ireland. (b) In Skye also dorust = dorus [tamallt in Donegal = tamall]. (c) In Atholl, a ship laitheas [this is luingeas, cf. luinge, teanga, pron. luinġe, teanġa, in Inishowen]. (d) In many places ṫáine is said for ṫáinig [so in Cork also]. (c) In Braemar, when a knock is heard at the door, the invitation to enter is usually staigh seach [perhaps old Irish saiġ isteaċ; it may throw light on the Donegal guit seo = come here.]