With St Patrick's Day upon us today, March 17, here are 15 words the
English language owes to Gaelige, better known to English speakers as
Irish Gaelic -- and as this list shows, Irish has given us a lot more
than just leprechauns and shamrocks.
Acushla
If you've seen
Million Dollar Baby, then you'll probably remember that
acushla or
macushla is an old Irish term of endearment roughly equivalent to the English
sweetheart or
darling. In the film, boxing trainer (and WB Yeats enthusiast) Frankie Dunn, played by Clint Eastwood, gives the nickname
Mo Chuisle
to Maggie Fitzgerald, the indomitable female boxer played by Hilary
Swank. Acushla and all of its variations derive from the Irish
a chuisle mo chroí, literally meaning 'the pulse of my heart.'
Bother
For such a familiar word it might come as a surprise to find that no one is entirely sure where
bother comes from. The most likely idea is that it was originally
pother,
a word used in both Scots and Irish English to mean 'to cause a
commotion,' or 'to bustle about busily,' which is in turn probably
related to the Irish for
noise,
bodhraim, or
deafen,
bodhraim.
Craic
Back in the Middle Ages, the word
crack was used in northern
British English to mean 'conversation' or 'bragging, noisy chatter.'
This English expression was then borrowed into Irish Gaelic and became
craic,
before being borrowed back into British English as recently as the
1970s to mean 'fun' or 'enjoyment,' particularly with friends or on a
social occasion.
Galore
Meaning 'plentiful' or 'in abundance',
galore dates back as far as the 1620s. It is derived from the Irish phrase
go leór, which, contrary to its English use, doesn't mean 'abundantly' but rather 'sufficiently' or 'just enough.'
Hooligan
The word
hooligan dates from the 1890s in English, and is almost certainly derived from the Irish surname
Houlihan, or
hUallacháin
[sic.]. Its use as another name for a criminal or hoodlum is thought to
come from a notorious Irish troublemaker called Patrick Hoolihan and
his disorderly family who lived in London at the turn of the 19th-20th
century.
Kibosh
Kibosh or
kybosh has been used generally in English to
describe something that stops or restrains something else since the
early 1800s, but nowadays it is seldom found outside of the phrase to
put the kibosh on, meaning 'to curb' or 'bring to an end.' Its origin is
disputed, with various rival theories claiming it derives from anywhere
from Turkish to Hebrew, but perhaps the most likely explanation is that
it comes form the Irish
chaip bháis, or 'cap of death' --
namely the black cap traditionally worn by an executioner or a judge
delivering the death penalty. Its earliest use in English, incidentally,
is found in Charles Dickens's
Sketches By Boz (1836).
Phony
Phony first appeared in English in the late 19th century as an
adjective meaning 'counterfeit' or 'insincere'; its earliest use as a
noun, meaning 'an imposter' or 'a charlatan,' dates from 1902. Its
etymology is debatable, but the most likely theory is that it is an
alteration of the Irish word for a ring,
fáinne, and was borrowed into English via an old fraudster's trick called the 'fawney rig.' According to an 1811
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue,
the fawney rig involved 'a fellow' who drops 'a brass ring, double
gilt, which he picks up before the party meant to be cheated, and to
whom he disposes of it for less than its supposed -- and ten times more
than its real -- value.'
Reaganomics
Alright, so
Reaganomics isn't an Irish word, but it's fair to
say it wouldn't have existed without Reagan. The surname of the 40th
president is a derivative of the Irish word
riagan, meaning
'little king.' Another president with an Irish name was Kennedy --
although regrettably his name comes from the Irish epithet ceannéidigh,
meaning 'ugly-head.'
Shebeen
Properly speaking, a
shebeen is a speakeasy or a similarly
unlicensed or underground drinking establishment, but the word can also
be used like moonshine and hooch as just another name for illegal or
poor quality liquor (and in particular whisky). It dates back to the
late 1700s, and is thought to be a derivative of an Irish word for a cup
or mug,
síbín.
Slew
Besides being a variation of
slough, the past tense of
slay, and an old verb meaning 'to skid' or 'to pivot', the word
slew can also mean 'a large number' or 'an abundance of'. In this case, it comes from the Irish word for a crowd or army,
slua.
Slob
Calling a slovenly person a slob dates back to the mid 19th century in
English. Before then it meant 'mud,' or 'marshy, boggy land,' and is
descended from the Irish word
slaba, meaning 'ooze' or 'slime.'
Smithereens
Smithereens has been used to mean 'small pieces' in English since the early 1800s. It derives from its Irish equivalent
smidirín, which in turn is a diminutive of the Irish word for a fragment of shard of something larger,
smiodar.
Tory
Members of the British Conservative Party -- including current Prime Minister David Cameron -- have been nicknamed
Tories
since the early 1800s. There is absolutely nothing satirical whatsoever
to be said about the fact that it ultimately derives from
tóraidhe, an old Irish word for an outlaw or a plunderer of stolen cash.
Trousers
Trousers were originally called
trowse or
trouse in English before an extra final
-s
was added to it in the Middle Ages, as it was to all kinds of other
things that come in pairs, like scissors, pants and spectacles. It
ultimately derives from an even earlier Irish word,
triubhas, for breeches or loose-fitting shorts.
Whisky
It's impossible to say whether
whisky was originally an Irish Gaelic or Scots Gaelic word, but either way it derives from
uisce beatha, a Gaelic phrase literally meaning 'water of life.'
On two evenings this week I have had the privilege of attending two wonderful concerts at which our pupils excelled and did us proud.
