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 Post subject: Re: Puzzled by words
PostPosted: Wed 12 Oct 2011 3:00 pm 
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Thanks, all, for the replies! Other languages do have interesting names for animals. Russian was mentioned, дом "dom" meaning "home". The Russians call the bear медведь "medved'", meaning "eater of honey". That was an easy one to figure. ;)

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 Post subject: Re: Puzzled by words
PostPosted: Wed 12 Oct 2011 3:06 pm 
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It just occurred to me that, to put it into contemporary Scottish speech, damhan-allaidh or damhán alla could be seen as meaning "fierce beastie".

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 Post subject: Re: Puzzled by words
PostPosted: Wed 12 Oct 2011 8:52 pm 
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And a stag beetle (lucane) is sometimes called a flying deer (un cerf-volant -a kite) or as Loic would say c'hwil krug - I don't know why.


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 Post subject: Re: Puzzled by words
PostPosted: Wed 12 Oct 2011 9:18 pm 
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Quote:
And a stag beetle (lucane) is sometimes called a flying deer (un cerf-volant -a kite) or as Loic would say c'hwil krug - I don't know why.


but I wouldn't say like that because in my Breton dialect we say "c'hwil Zant Yann", Saint John's beetle :) in other places they say "kornoù an diaoul", the Devil's horns :)

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 Post subject: Re: Puzzled by words
PostPosted: Wed 12 Oct 2011 11:12 pm 
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CaoimhínSF wrote:
It just occurred to me that, to put it into contemporary Scottish speech, damhan-allaidh or damhán alla could be seen as meaning "fierce beastie".


Spiders don't have to be at all fierce to put the fear of God into me...they just have to be their creepy, 8-legged, little selves!

A friend with a pet tarantula once pointed out to me that the creature wasn't poisonous and wouldn't bite in any case. I told him that the tarantula doesn't need to be poisonous, or even to bite...one touch would give me a heart attack!

Ain't arachnaphobia fun?

On the interesting animal names side, one I've always found intriguing is míolta mór.

Redwolf


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 Post subject: Re: Puzzled by words
PostPosted: Thu 13 Oct 2011 12:21 am 
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Redwolf wrote:
On the interesting animal names side, one I've always found intriguing is míolta mór.

Yeah, I thought of míoltóg/míol mhór, as well. Somewhat similar to this.

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 Post subject: Re: Puzzled by words
PostPosted: Thu 13 Oct 2011 2:25 am 
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Tá fóibe na ndamhán alla ar mo mhamaí fosta, fiú amháin nuair a tchí sí pioctúracha do dhamháin alla, cuireann siad iogla orthaí. Cha maith liomsa damháin alla ach an oiread ach ní fóibe atá ormsa le cuidiú Dé.

Quote:
Yeah, I thought of míoltóg/míol mhór, as well. Somewhat similar to this.


Míol is an old word that meant "animal", so basically míol mór is simply "a big animal" and míoltóg is a "tiny animal" :-)

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 Post subject: Re: Puzzled by words
PostPosted: Thu 13 Oct 2011 8:35 am 
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Isn't alla still used as an adjective in Munster to mean wild, with allta being the plural form?


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 Post subject: Re: Puzzled by words
PostPosted: Thu 13 Oct 2011 10:32 am 
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Lughaidh wrote:
Míol is an old word that meant "animal", so basically míol mór is simply "a big animal" and míoltóg is a "tiny animal" :-)

Exactly; hence the parallel. :)

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Always wait for at least three people to agree on a translation, especially if it’s for something permanent.

My translations are usually GU (Ulster Irish), unless CO (Standard Orthography) is requested.


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 Post subject: Re: Puzzled by words
PostPosted: Sat 15 Oct 2011 12:27 am 
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Lus na magairlí = orchid

So, what's magairlí got to do with the flower - I just don't see it.

Interestingly, there's a connection in English too. Look up 'polyorchid' if you've got the balls to!


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