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The Irish For As the nights are closing in - curl up by the fire and learn some winter words

Codladh Geimhridh literally means ‘winter sleep’ and is the Irish for hibernation. Sometimes that feels like a viable option in the Land of Eternal Winter (Hibernia), writes Darach Ó Séaghdha.

This the latest dispatch from our columnist Darach Ó Séaghdha, author of the award-winning and bestselling Motherfoclóir. Every Sunday morning, Darach will be regaling (re-Gaeling?) us with insights on what the Irish language says about Ireland, our society, our past and our present. Enjoy.

AS SAMHAIN RECEDES into Mí na Nollag, I am reminded of the Swedish saying ‘there’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes’.

Granted the charms of cold and rain aren’t as obvious as those of sunshine and heat, but there’s much to enjoy in December beyond the Christmas break.

Dark nights, frosty mornings, seeing your breath in front of you, end of year top-ten lists and the underrated comforts of hot alcoholic drinks.

If you’re a grinch like me, you can still enjoy December; all you need are the right clothes and the right Irish words.

Codladh Geimhridh: Literally ‘winter sleep’, this is the Irish for hibernation.

The Romans called Ireland the Land of Eternal Winter (Hibernia), which is really saying something when you consider that they had a word for Scotland and other colder places. Arguably this was more a comment on our miserable summers than our mild winters.

Fuar: I’m sure you know this one, the Irish word for cold. It sounds a lot like the past tense of the verb to get. For example, ‘fuair sé cic sa thóin’ – he got a kick in the bottom.

Siocán: Not to be confused with síocháin (peace), this word means frost. The turn of phrase ‘ní lugha orm an sioc ná é’ means “I hate him more than I hate frost”.

Siocdhóite is the Irish for frostbitten, it translates literally as frost-burnt.

Staga: This means a potato damaged by frost. It is just one of several highly specific words for bad potatoes, some of which can also be used as insults for people.

These include

Sliomach: An inedible potato or a useless person and  

Stagún: A damaged potato or very stubborn person.

Aimliú: The potatoes referred to above might also fall under this category. There is no direct equivalent for this word in English – it means ruined by exposure to rain, frost, wind or other atmospheric phenomena.

Buatais Bháistí: This alluringly alliterative term is the Irish for a welly, the perfect footwear for the season – it translates literally as rain boot.

The wellington boot is named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, the Irish-born first Duke of Wellington. However, the duke was deeply ashamed of his Irish birth – when it was brought up to embarrass him at parties in 19th century London high society, he’d famously reply: “Being born in a stable does not make one a horse”.

Ceirtlín: As the rain pelts against the window, it’s the right time for thick, woollen clothes and wholesome crafty hobbies like knitting.

While liathróid is the go-to word for a ball, ceirtlín is the word used for balls of wool, thread, yarn and the like. It is also the word used for a curled-up hedgehog.

Lómhar: An appropriate double-meaning in the wintertime, this recherché word can mean either woolly or precious.

Though both woolly and precious have more frequently-used terms in Irish (olanda and luachmar respectively), but I’ll be thinking of lómhar when I wrap my daughter up warmly before we go for a winter walk.

Darach’s new book, ‘Craic Baby: Dispatches From A Rising Language’ is published by Head of Zeus and available in bookshops now.

He runs @theirishfor Twitter account and the @motherfocloir podcast.

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    Mute Peter Cavey
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 4:51 PM

    The fact that they say “by default” means that there is probably a legal loophole that says they can.

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    Mute Kian David Griffin
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 4:59 PM

    @Peter Cavey: yes. By asking users permission first.

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    Mute Colette Kearns
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 5:03 PM

    Call a friend & mention something like a piece of jewellery or clothing , then go on fb & an add will pop up for that product!

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    Mute Peter Cavey
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 5:08 PM

    @Colette Kearns: yeah. That happened to me. Tested the theory by opening Facebook and talking about skiing, something I have never done before. Then with an hour, skiing gear for sale ads.

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    Mute milton friedman
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 5:12 PM

    @Peter Cavey: it’s great isn’t it. So convenient !

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    Mute Peter D W Clancy
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 5:20 PM

    @Peter Cavey: You agree to this in the T&C’s of Facebook which most people have never read.

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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 7:07 PM

    @Colette Kearns: Not quite !! if you use Facebook platforms -such as messanger or whatsApp then they can do that – but if you just a call your friend on your mobile and have a conversation Facebook have no way of targeting you as you infer in your comment.

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    Mute keano
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 7:24 PM

    Wouldn’t trust any of them as far as I could throw them. Think I read recently that Data has now become more valuable than any other commodity …. scary the amount of wealth these big techs are sitting on! Still google assistant is a very very impressive piece of technology

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    Mute TamuMassif2019
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 5:39 PM

    They don’t, they just pass it onto the NSA as they get it?

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    Mute cybersecsteve
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 6:20 PM

    “Automatically” is the key word here.

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    Mute Padraic O Sullivan
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 6:23 PM

    When Trump talks about new sheets on the phone he sees nappy ads on FB Biggly

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