Irish phrases involving colours

Bríd Mhór · **Joined:** Sun 28 Aug 2011 8:29 pm **Posts:** 3001

SmithJR67 wrote:

Saoirse wrote:

'Níl pingin rua agam' means 'I'm broke' or 'I don't have a red penny'.

Help me out here. I know that 'rua' means red, but doesn't it refer to red hair, rather than the color red?

"airgead rua" is not really red, it is copper colour.
Níl pingin rua agam. I don't have a (copper) penny.. or "red cent" as they say in America.

Bríd Mhór · **Joined:** Sun 28 Aug 2011 8:29 pm **Posts:** 3001

cosán dearg - beaten track

beagle · **Joined:** Mon 05 Sep 2011 1:45 am **Posts:** 267

fearg dearg - red anger, red rage

Lughaidh · **Joined:** Thu 15 Sep 2011 12:06 pm **Posts:** 2436

Tá an deargádh ort (the red luck is on you) (for some reason I can find only "an t-ádh dearg" in FGB), but I know deargádh does exist too.

Féabar · **Posted:** Wed 11 Apr 2012 3:34 am

My teacher from Dún Phádraig uses "an t-ádh dearg ort" alot. Also, I've hear her say "fearg dearg" She uses "dearg" alot in phrases but I just can't remember them faoi lathair.

Féabar :nail:

Saoirse · **Posted:** Wed 11 Apr 2012 11:28 am

Bríd Mhór wrote:

SmithJR67 wrote:

Saoirse wrote:

'Níl pingin rua agam' means 'I'm broke' or 'I don't have a red penny'.

Help me out here. I know that 'rua' means red, but doesn't it refer to red hair, rather than the color red?

"airgead rua" is not really red, it is copper colour.
Níl pingin rua agam. I don't have a (copper) penny.. or "red cent" as they say in America.

That makes more sense actually. I'll edit the original post to show that. Grma!

Mick · **Joined:** Fri 18 Nov 2011 2:27 pm **Posts:** 622

Another great topic from Saoirse. Here's two that I found interesting . . .

Fear gorm = a black man (literally: a blue man)
Dathúil = attractive, good-looking (literally: coloured/colourful)

Saoirse · **Posted:** Wed 11 Apr 2012 12:48 pm

Mick wrote:

Another great topic from Saoirse.

Mick wrote:

Fear gorm = a black man (literally: a blue man)

This one has always intrigued me - why is a black man 'gorm' and not 'dubh'?

Brian O'Cathain · **Joined:** Fri 09 Mar 2012 10:01 am **Posts:** 84

Fear Gorm; I asked that question over sixty years ago and here is the answer I got. Though the Saltair of Cormac mentions black crossans at King Cas's funeral the gorm bit comes from the raids
along the Cork/Kerry coast in the 15th and 16th centuries. These pirates/slave traders were Muslims from Spain and Berbers from North Africa and they wore Indigo cloaks and headdresses. So though
many of them were either black or dark-skinned, people only described them by their clothes ie daoine gorma. Is this true? I don't know but it makes a good story (one I've told several black people over the years).

Saoirse · **Posted:** Wed 11 Apr 2012 1:08 pm

Brian O'Cathain wrote:

Fear Gorm; I asked that question over sixty years ago and here is the answer I got. Though the Saltair of Cormac mentions black crossans at King Cas's funeral the gorm bit comes from the raids along the Cork/Kerry coast in the 15th and 16th centuries. These pirates/slave traders were Muslims from Spain and Berbers from North Africa and they wore Indigo cloaks and headdresses. So though many of them were either black or dark-skinned, people only described them by their clothes ie daoine gorma. Is this true? I don't know but it makes a good story (one I've told several black people over the years).

That sounds very interesting - and possible. I have also heard that 'an fear dubh' may have referred to an diabhal and so obviously couldn't be used for black people.

(Edited to fix dubh)

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