As young Rory and Moreen were talking,How Shrove Tuesday was just drawing near;For the tenth time he asked her to marry;But says she:—'Time enough till next year.Then ochone I'm going to Skellig:O Moreen, what will I do?'Tis the woeful road to travel;And how lonesome I'll be without you!'[8]Here is a verse from another:—Poor Andy Callaghan with doleful noseCame up and told his tale of many woes:—Some lucky thief from him his sweetheart stole,Which left a weight of grief upon his soul:With flowing tears he sat upon the grass,And roared sonorous like a braying ass.Skelly; to aim askew and miss the mark; to squint. (Patterson: all over Ulster.)Skelp; a blow, to give a blow or blows; a piece cut off:—'Tom gave Pat a skelp': 'I cut off a skelp of the board with a hatchet.' To run fast:—'There's Joe skelping off to school.'Skib; a flat basket:—'We found the people collected round a skibb of potatoes.' ('Wild Sports of the West.')Skidder, skiddher; broken thick milk, stale and sour. (Munster.)Skillaun. The piece cut out of a potato to be used as seed, containing one germinatingeye, from which the young stalk grows. Several skillauns will be cut from one potato; and the irregular part left is askilloge(Cork and Kerry), or acreelacaun(Limerick). Irishsciollán, same sound and meaning.Skit; to laugh and giggle in a silly way:—'I'll bebail they didn't skit and laugh.' (Crofton Croker.) 'Skit and laugh,' very common in South.Skite; a silly frivolous light-headed person. Hence Blatherumskite (South), or (in Ulster), bletherumskite.Skree; a large number of small things, as a skree of potatoes, a skree of chickens, &c. (Morris: South Monaghan.)Skull-cure for a bad toothache. Go to the nearest churchyard alone by night, to the corner where human bones are usually heaped up, from which take and bring away a skull. Fill the skull with water, and take a drink from it: that will cure your toothache.Sky farmer; a term much used in the South with several shades of meaning: but the idea underlying all is a farmer without land, or with only very little—having broken down since the time when he had a big farm—who often keeps a cow or two grazing along the roadsides. Many of these struggling men acted as intermediaries between the big corn merchants and the large farmers in the sale of corn, and got thereby a percentage from the buyers. A 'sky farmer' has his farmin the sky.Slaan [aalong as theaincar]; a sort of very sharp spade, used in cutting turf or peat. Universal in the South.Slack-jaw; impudent talk, continuous impertinences:—'I'll have none of your slack-jaw.'Slang; a narrow strip of land along a stream, not suited to cultivation, but grazed. (Moran: Carlow.)Sleeveen; a smooth-tongued, sweet-mannered, sly,guileful fellow. Universal all over the South and Middle. Irishslíghbhín, same sound and meaning; fromslígh, a way:binn, sweet, melodious: 'asweet-manneredfellow.'Slewder, sluder [dsounded likethinsmooth]; a wheedling coaxing fellow: as a verb, to wheedle. Irishsligheadóir[sleedore], same meaning.Sliggin; a thin flat little stone. (Limerick.) Irish. Primary meaninga shell.Sling-trot; when a person or an animal is going along [not walking but] trotting or running along at a leisurely pace. (South.)Slinge [slinj]; to walk along slowly and lazily. In some places, playing truant from school. (South.)Slip; a young girl. A young pig, older than abonnive, running about almost independent of its mother. (General.)Slipe; a rude sort of cart or sledge without wheels used for dragging stones from a field. (Ulster.)Slitther; a kind of thick soft leather: also a ball covered with that leather, for hurling. (Limerick.)Sliver; a piece of anything broken or cut off, especially cut off longitudinally. An old English word, obsolete in England, but still quite common in Munster.Slob; a soft fat quiet simple-minded girl or boy:—'Your little Nellie is a quiet poor slob': used as a term of endearment.Sloke, sloak, sluke, sloukaun; a sea plant of the family oflaverfound growing on rocks round the coast, which is esteemed a table delicacy—dark-coloured, almost black; often pickled and eaten with pepper, vinegar, &c. Seen in all the Dublinfish shops. The name, which is now known all over the Three Kingdoms, is anglicised from Irishsleabhac,sleabhacán[slouk, sloukaun].Slug; a drink: as a verb, to drink:—'Here take a little slug from this and 'twill do you good.' Irishslogto swallow by drinking. (General.) Whencesluggaandsluggera, a cavity in a river-bed into which the water issluggedor swallowed.Slugabed; a sluggard. (General in Limerick.) Old English, obsolete in England:—'Fie, you slug-a-bed.' ('Romeo and Juliet.')Slush; to work and toil like a slave: a woman who toils hard. (General.)Slut; a torch made by dipping a long wick in resin. (Armagh.) Called apaudheogein Munster.Smaadher [aalikeaincar]; to break in pieces. Jim Foley was on apooka'sback on the top of an old castle, and he was afraid he'd 'tumble down and besmatheredto a thousand pieces.' (Ir. Mag.)Smalkera; a rude home-made wooden spoon.Small-clothes; kneebreeches. (Limerick.) So called to avoid the plain termbreeches, as we now often sayinexpressibles.Small farmer; has a small farm with small stock of cattle: a struggling man as distinguished from a 'strong' farmer.Smeg, smeggeen, smiggin; a tuft of hair on the chin. (General.) Merely the Irishsmeig,smeigín; same sounds and meaning.Smithereens; broken fragments after a smash,4.Smullock [to rhyme withbullock]; a fillip of the finger. (Limerick.) Irishsmallóg, same meaning.Smur, smoor, fine thick mist. (North.) Irishsmúr, mist.Smush [to rhyme withbush]: anything reduced to fine small fragments, like straw or hay, dry peat-mould in dust, &c.Smush, used contemptuously for the mouth, a hairy mouth:—'I don't like your uglysmush.'Snachta-shaidhaun: dry powdery snow blown about by the wind. Irishsneachta, snow, andséideán, a breeze. (South.)Snaggle-tooth; a person with some teeth gone so as to leave gaps.Snap-apple; a play with apples on Hallow-eve, where big apples are placed in difficult positions and are to be caught by the teeth of the persons playing. Hence Hallow-Eve is often called 'Snap-apple night.'Snauvaun; to move about slowly and lazily. From Irishsnámh[snauv], to swim, with the diminutive:—Moving slowly like a person swimming.Sned; to clip off, to cut away, like the leaves and roots of a turnip. Sned also means the handle of a scythe.Snig; to cut or clip with a knife:—'The shoots of that apple-tree are growing out too long: I must snig off the tops of them.'Snish; neatness in clothes. (Morris: Carlow.)Snoboge; a rosin torch. (Moran: Carlow.) Same asslutandpaudheoge.Snoke; to scent or snuff about like a dog. (Derry.)So. This has some special dialectical senses among us. It is used forif:—'I will pay you wellsoyou do the work to my liking.' This is old English:—'I am contentsothou wilt have it so.'('Rom. and Jul.') It is used as a sort of emphatic expletive carrying accent or emphasis:—'Will you keep that farm?' 'I willso,' i.e. 'I will for certain.' 'Take care and don't break them' (the dishes): 'I won'tso.' ('Collegians.') It is used in the sense of 'in that case':—'I am not going to town to-day'; 'Oh well I will not go,so'—i.e. 'as you are not going.'Sock; the tubular or half-tubular part of a spade or shovel that holds the handle. Irishsoc.Soft day; a wet day. (A usual salute.)Soil; fresh-cut grass for cattle.Sold; betrayed, outwitted:—'If that doesn't frighten him off you're sold' (caught in the trap, betrayed, ruined. Edw. Walsh in Ir. Pen. Journal).Something like; excellent:—'That's something like a horse,' i.e. a fine horse and no mistake.Sonaghan; a kind of trout that appears in certain lakes in November, coming from the rivers. (Prof. J. Cooke,M.A., of Dublin: for Ulster):—Irishsamhain[sowan], November:samhnachánwith the diminutiveánorchán, 'November-fellow.'Sonoohar; a good wife, a good partner in marriage; a good marriage: generally used in the form of a wish:—'Thankee sir and sonoohar to you.' Irishsonuachar, same sound and meaning.Sonsy; fortunate, prosperous. Also well-looking and healthy:—'A finesonsygirl.' Irishsonas, luck;sonasach,sonasaigh, same sound and meaning.Soogan, sugan, sugaun; a straw or hay rope twisted by the hand.Soss; a short trifling fall with no harm beyond a smart shock. (Moran: Carlow.)Sough; a whistling or sighing noise like that of the wind through trees. 'Keep a calm sough' means keep quiet, keep silence. (Ulster.)Soulth; 'a formless luminous apparition.' (W. B. Yeats.) Irishsamhailt[soulth], a ghost, an apparition;lit.a 'likeness,' fromsamhai[sowel], like.Sources of Anglo-Irish Dialect,1.Sowans, sowens; a sort of flummery or gruel usually made and eaten on Hallow Eve. Very general in Ulster and Scotland; merely the Irish wordsamhain, the first of November; for Hallow Eve is really a November feast, as being the eve of the first of that month. In old times in Ireland, the evening went with the coming night.Spalpeen. Spalpeens were labouring men—reapers, mowers, potato-diggers, &c.—who travelled about in the autumn seeking employment from the farmers, each with his spade, or his scythe, or his reaping-hook. They congregated in the towns on market and fair days, where the farmers of the surrounding districts came to hire them. Each farmer brought home his own men, fed them on good potatoes and milk, and sent them to sleep in the barn on dry straw—a bed—as one of them said to me—'a bed fit for a lord, let alone a spalpeen.' The wordspalpeenis now used in the sense of a low rascal. Irishspailpín, same sound and meaning. (See my 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs,' p. 216; and for the Ulster term see Rabble above.)Spaug; a big clumsy foot:—'You put your ugly spaug down on my handkerchief.' Irishspág, same sound and sense.Speel; to climb. (Patterson: Ulster.)Spink; a sharp rock, a precipice. (Tyrone.)Splinkin Donegal. Irishspinncandsplinnc, same sounds and meaning.Spit; the soil dug up and turned over, forming a long trench as deep as the spade will go. 'He dug down three spits before he came to the gravel.'Spoileen; a coarse kind of soap made out of scraps of inferior grease and meat: often sold cheap at fairs and markets. (Derry and Tyrone.) Irishspóilín, a small bit of meat.Spoocher; a sort of large wooden shovel chiefly used for lifting small fish out of a boat. (Ulster.)Spreece; red-hot embers, chiefly ashes. (South.) Irishsprís, same sound and meaning. Same asgreesagh.Sprissaun; an insignificant contemptible little chap. Irishspriosán[same sound], the original meaning of which is a twig or spray from a bush. (South.)'To the devil I pitch ye ye set of sprissauns.'(Old Folk Song, for which see my 'Ancient IrishMusic,' p. 85.)Sprong: a four-pronged manure fork. (MacCall: South-east counties.)Spruggil, spruggilla; the craw of a fowl. (Morris: South Monaghan.) Irishsprogal[spruggal], with that meaning and several others.Sprunge [sprunj], any animal miserable and small for its age. (Ulster.)Spuds; potatoes.Spunk; tinder, now usually made by steepingbrown paper in a solution of nitre; lately gone out of use from the prevalence of matches. Often applied in Ulster and Scotland to a spark of fire: 'See is there a spunk of fire in the hearth.' Spunk also denotes spirit, courage, and dash. 'Hasn't Dick great spunk to face that big fellow, twice his size?''I'm sure if you had not been drunkWith whiskey, rum, or brandy—O,You would not have the gallant spunkTo be half so bold or manly—O.'(Old Irish Folk Song.)Irishsponnc.Spy farleys; to pry into secrets: to visit a house, in order to spy about what's going on. (Ulster.)Spy-Wednesday; the Wednesday before Easter. According to the religious legend it got the name because on the Wednesday before the Crucifixion Judas was spying about how best he could deliver up our Lord. (General.)Squireen; an Irish gentleman in a small way who apes the manners, the authoritative tone, and the aristocratic bearing of the large landed proprietors. Sometimes you can hardly distinguish a squireen from ahalf-siror from ashoneen. Sometimes the squireen was the son of the old squire: a worthless young fellow, who loafed about doing nothing, instead of earning an honest livelihood: but he was too grand for that. The word is a diminutive ofsquire, applied here in contempt, like many other diminutives. The class of squireen is nearly extinct: 'Joy be with them.'Stackan; the stump of a tree remaining after thetree itself has been cut or blown down. (Simmons: Armagh.) Irishstaic, a stake, with the diminutive.Stad; the same assthallk, which see.Stag; a potato rendered worthless or bad by frost or decay.Stag; a cold-hearted unfeeling selfish woman.Stag; an informer, who turns round and betrays his comrades:—'The two worst informers against a private [pottheen] distiller, barring astag, are a smoke by day and a fire by night.' (Carleton in 'Ir. Pen. Journ.') 'Do you think me astag, that I'd inform on you.' (Ibid.)Staggeen [thetsounded likethinthank], a worn-out worthless old horse.Stand to or by a person, to act as his friend; to standforan infant, to be his sponsor in baptism. The people hardly ever say, 'I'm his godfather,' but 'I stood for him.'Stare; the usual name for a starling (bird) in Ireland.Station. The celebration of Mass with confessions and Holy Communion in a private house by the parish priest or one of his curates, for the convenience of the family and their neighbours, to enable them the more easily to receive the sacraments. Latterly the custom has been falling into disuse.Staukan-vorraga [tsounded likethinthorn], a small high rick of turf in a market from which portions were continually sold away and as continually replaced: so that thesthaucastood always in the people's way. Applied also to a big awkward fellow always visiting when he's not wanted, andalways in the way. (John Davis White, of Clonmel.) Irishstáca 'n mharga[sthaucan-vorraga], the 'market stake or stack.'Stelk or stallk; mashed potatoes mixed with beans or chopped vegetables. (North.)Sthallk; a fit of sulk in a horse—or in a child. (Munster.) Irishstailc, same sound and meaning.Sthoakagh; a big idle wandering vagabond fellow. (South.) Irishstócach, same sound and meaning.Sthowl; a jet or splash of water or of any liquid. (South.) Irishsteall, same sound and meaning.Stim or stime; a very small quantity, aniota, an atom, a particle:—'You'll never have a stim of sense' ('Knocknagow'): 'I couldn't see a stim in the darkness.'Stook; a shock of corn, generally containing twelve sheaves. (General.) Irishstuaic, same sound and meaning, with several other meanings.Stoon; a fit, the worst of a fit: same as Englishstound: a sting of pain:—'Well Bridget how is the toothache?' 'Ah well sir the stoon is off.' (De Vismes Kane: Ulster.)Store pig; a pig nearly full grown, almost ready to be fattened. (Munster.)Str. Most of the following words beginning withstrare derived from Irish words beginning withsr. For as this combinationsrdoes not exist in English, when an Irish word with this beginning is borrowed into English, atis always inserted between thesandrto bring it into conformity with English usage and to render it more easily pronounced by English-speaking tongues. See this subject discussed in 'Irish Names of Places,'vol.I., p. 60. Moreover thetinstris almost always sounded the same asthinthink,thank.Straar or sthraar [to rhyme withstar]; the rough straddle which supports the back band of a horse's harness—coming between the horse's back and the band. (Derry.) The old Irish wordsrathar[same sound], a straddle, a pack-saddle.Straddy; a street-walker, an idle person always sauntering along the streets. There is a fine Irish air named 'The Straddy' in my 'Old Irish Music and Songs,' p. 310. From Irishsráid, a street.Strahane, strahaun,struhane; a very small stream like a mill stream or an artificial stream to a pottheen still. Irishsruth[sruh] stream, with dim.Strammel; a big tall bony fellow. (Limerick.)Strap; a bold forward girl or woman; the word often conveys a sense slightly leaning towards lightness of character.Strath; a term used in many parts of Ireland to denote the level watery meadow-land along a river. Irishsrath.Stravage [to rhyme withplague]; to roam about idly:—'He is alwaysstravagingthe streets.' In Ulster it is madestavage.Streel; a very common word all through Ireland to denote a lazy untidy woman—a slattern: often madestreelogein Connaught, the same word with the diminutive. As a verb,streelis used in the sense of to drag along in an untidy way:—'Her dress was streeling in the mud.' Irishsríl[sreel], same meanings.Streel is sometimes applied to an untidy slovenly-looking man too, as I once heard itapplied under odd circumstances when I was very young. Bartholomew Power was long and lanky, with his clothes hanging loose on him. On the morning when he and his newly-married wife—whom I knew well, and who was then no chicken—were setting out for his home, I walked a bit of the way with the happy bride to take leave of her. Just when we were about to part, she turned and said to me—these were her very words—'Well Mr. Joyce, you know the number of nice young men I came across in my day (naming half a dozen of them), and,' said she—nodding towards the bride-groom, who was walking by the car a few perches in front—'isn't it a heart-scald that at the end of all I have now to walk off with that streel of a devil.'Strickle; a scythe-sharpener covered with emery, (Simmons: Armagh.)Strig; thestrippingsor milk that comes last from a cow. (Morris: South Monaghan.)Striffin; the thin pellicle or skin on the inside of an egg-shell. (Ulster.)Strippings; the same as strig, the last of the milk that comes from the cow at milking—always the richest. Often called in Munstersniug.Stroansha; a big idle lazy lump of a girl, always gadding about. Irishstróinse, same sound and meaning.Strock´ara [accent onstrock-]; a very hard-working man. (Munster.) Irishstracaire, same sound and meaning, with several other meanings.Strong; well in health, without any reference to muscular strength. 'How is your mother these times?' 'She's very strong now thank God.'Strong farmer; a very well-to-do prosperous farmer, with a large farm and much cattle. In contradistinction to a 'small farmer.'Stroup or stroop; the spout of a kettle or teapot or the lip of a jug. (Ulster.)Strunt; to sulk. (Simmons: Armagh.) Same assthallkfor the South.Stum; a sulky silent person. (Antrim and Down.)Stumpy; a kind of coarse heavy cake made from grated potatoes from which the starch has been squeezed out: also called muddly. (Munster.)Sturk, stirk, sterk; a heifer or bullock about two years old: a pig three or four months old. Often applied to a stout low-sized boy or girl. Irishstorc.Sugan; a straw or hay rope: same as soogan.Sugeen; water in which oatmeal has been steeped: often drunk by workmen on a hot day in place of plain water. (Roscommon.) From Ir.sugh, juice.Sulter; great heat [of a day]: a word formed fromsultry:—'There's greatsultherto-day.'Summachaun; a soft innocent child. (Munster.) Irishsomachán, same sound and meaning. In Connaught it means a big ignorant puffed up booby of a fellow.Sup; one mouthful of liquid: a small quantity drunk at one time. This is English:—'I took a small sup of rum.' ('Robinson Crusoe.') 'We all take a sup in our turn.' (Irish Folk Song.)Sure; one of our commonest opening words for a sentence: you will hear it perpetually among gentle and simple: 'Don't forget to lock up the fowls.' 'Sure I did that an hour ago.' 'Sureyou won't forget to call here on your way back?' 'James, sure I sold my cows.'Swan-skin; the thin finely-woven flannel bought in shops; so called to distinguish it from the coarse heavy home-made flannel. (Limerick.)Swearing,66.Tally-iron or tallin-iron; the iron forcrimpingor curling up the borders of women's caps. A corruption ofItalian-iron.Targe; a scolding woman, abarge. (Ulster.)Tartles: ragged clothes; torn pieces of dress. (Ulster.)Taste; a small bit or amount of anything:—'He has no taste of pride': 'Aren't you ashamed of yourself?' 'Not a taste': 'Could you give me the least taste in life of a bit of soap?'Tat, tait; a tangled or matted wad or mass of hair on a girl or on an animal. 'Come here till I comb thetatsout of your hair. (Ulster.) Irishtath[tah]. In the anglicised word the aspiratedt(th), which sounds likehin Irish, is restored to its full sound in the process of anglicisation in accordance with a law which will be found explained in 'Irish Names of Places,' vol. i., pp. 42-48.Teem; to strain off or pour off water or any liquid. Toteempotatoes is to pour the water off them when they are boiled. In a like sense we say it isteemingrain. Irishtaom, same sound and sense.Ten commandments. 'She put her ten commandments on his face,' i.e. she scratched his face with her ten finger-nails. (MacCall: Wexford.)Tent; the quantity of ink taken up at one time by a pen.Terr; a provoking ignorant presumptuous fellow. (Moran: Carlow.)Thacka, thuck-ya, thackeen, thuckeen; a little girl. (South.) Irishtoice,toicín[thucka, thuckeen].Thaheen; a handful of flax or hay. Irishtath,taithín[thah, thaheen], same meaning. (Same Irish word as Tat above: but inthaheenthe finaltis aspirated toh, following the Irish word.)Thauloge: a boarded-off square enclosure at one side of the kitchen fire-place of a farmhouse, where candlesticks, brushes, wet boots, &c., are put. (Moran: Carlow.)Thayvaun or theevaun; the short beam of the roof crossing from one rafter to the opposite one. (South.) Irishtaobh[thaiv], a 'side,' with the diminutive.Theeveen; a patch on the side of a shoe. (General.) Irishtaobh[thaiv], a side with the dim.een; taoibhín [theeveen], 'little side.'Thick; closely acquainted: same meaning as 'Great,' which see. 'Dick is very thick with Joe now.'Thiescaun thyscaun, [thice-caun], or thayscaun: a quantity of anything, as a small load of hay drawn by a horse: 'When you're coming home with the cart from the bog, you may as well bring a littlethyscaunof turf. (South.) Irishtaoscán[thayscaun], same meaning.Think long: to be longing for anything—home, friends, an event, &c. (North.) 'I am thinking long till I see my mother.'Thirteen. When the English and Irish currencies were different, the English shilling was worth thirteen pence in Ireland: hence a shilling was called athirteenin Ireland:—'I gave the captain six thirteens to ferry me over to Park-gate.' (Irish Folk Song.)Thivish; a spectre, a ghost. (General.) Irishtaidhbhse[thivshe], same meaning.Thole; to endure, to bear:—'I had to thole hardship and want while you were away.' (All over Ulster.)Thon, thonder; yon, yonder:—'Not a tree or a thing only thon wee couple of poor whins that's blowing up thonder on the rise.' (Seumas MacManus, for North-West Ulster.)Thoun´thabock: a good beating. Literally 'strong tobacco: Ir.teann-tabac[same sound]. 'If you don't mind your business, I'll give you thounthabock.'Thrape or threep; to assert vehemently, boldly, and in a manner not to brook contradiction. Common in Meath and from that northward.Thrashbag; several pockets sewed one above another along a strip of strong cloth for holding thread, needles, buttons, &c., and rolled up when not in use. (Moran: Carlow.)Thraulagh, or thaulagh; a soreness or pain in the wrist of a reaper, caused by work. (Connaught.) Irish—two forms—trálachandtádhlach[thraulagh, thaulagh.]Three-na-haila; mixed up all in confusion:—'I must arrange my books and papers: they are allthree-na-haila.' (South.) Irishtrí n-a chéile, 'through each other.' The translation 'through-other' is universal in Ulster.Three-years-old and Four-years-old; the names of two hostile factions in the counties of Limerick, Tipperary, and Cork, of the early part of last century, who fought whenever they met, either individually or in numbers, each faction led by its redoubtable chief. The weapons were sticks, but sometimes stones were used. We boys took immense delight in witnessing those fights, keeping at a safe distance however for fear of a stray stone. Three-years and Four-years battles were fought in New Pallas in Tipperary down to a few years ago.Thrisloge; a long step in walking, a long jump. (Munster.) Irishtrioslóg, same sound.Throllop; an untidy woman, a slattern, astreel. (Banim: very general in the South.)Thurmus, thurrumus; to sulk from food. (Munster.) Irishtoirmesc[thurrumask], same meaning:—'Billy won't eat his supper: he isthurrumusing.'Tibb's-Eve; 'neither before nor after Christmas,' i.e., never: 'Oh you'll get your money by Tibb's-Eve.'Till; used in many parts of Ireland in the sense of 'in order that':—'Come here MickytillI comb your hair.'Tilly; a small quantity of anything given over and above the quantity purchased. Milkmen usually give a tilly with the pint or quart. Irishtuilledh, same sound and meaning. Very general.Tinges; goods that remain long in a draper's hands. (Moran: Carlow.)Togher [toher]; a road constructed through a bog or swamp; often of brambles or wickerwork covered over with gravel and stones.Tootn-egg [3-syll.], a peculiar-shaped brass or white-metal button, having the stem fastened by a conical-shaped bit of metal. I have seen it explained astooth-and-egg; but I believe this to be a guess. (Limerick.)Tory-top; the seed cone of a fir-tree. (South.)Towards; in comparison with:—'That's a fine horse towards the one you had before.'Tradesman; an artisan, a working mechanic. In Ireland the word is hardly ever applied to a shopkeeper.Trake; a long tiresome walk: 'you gave me a great trake for nothing,' (Ulster.)Tram or tram-cock; a hay-cock—rather a small one. (Moran: Carlow.)Trams; the ends of the cart shafts that project behind. (North.) Calledheelsin the South.Trance; the name given in Munster to the children's game of Scotch hop or pickey.Traneen or trawneen; a long slender grass-stalk, like a knitting-needle. Used all over Ireland. In some placescushoge.Travel; used in Ulster for walking as distinguished from driving or riding:—'Did you drive to Derry?' 'Oh no, I travelled.'Trice; to make an agreement or bargain. (Simmons: Armagh.)Triheens; a pair of stockings with only the legs: the two feet cut off. It is the Irishtroigh[thro], a foot, with the diminutive—troighthín[triheen]. In Roscommon this word is applied to the handle of a loy or spade which has been broken and patched together again. (Connaught and Munster.)Trindle; the wheel of a wheelbarrow. (Morris for South Monaghan.)Trinket; a small artificial channel for water: often across and under a road. (Simmons and Patterson: East Ulster.) See Linthern.Turf; peat for fuel: used in this sense all over Ireland. We hardly ever use the word in the sense of 'Where heaves theturfin many a mouldering heap.'Turk; an ill-natured surly boorish fellow.Twig; to understand, to discern, to catch the point:—'When I hinted at what I wanted, he twigged me at once.' Irishtuig[twig], to understand.Ubbabo; an exclamation of wonder or surprise;—'Ubbabo,' said the old woman, 'we'll soon see to that.' (Crofton Croker.)Ullagone; an exclamation of sorrow; a name applied to any lamentation:—'So I sat down ... and began to sing the Ullagone.' (Crofton Croker.) 'Mike was ullagoning all day after you left.' (Irish.)Ullilu; an interjection of sorrow equivalent to the Englishalasoralack and well-a-day. (Irish.)Unbe-knownst; unknown, secret. (De Vismes Kane for Monaghan: but used very generally.)Under has its peculiar uses:—'She left the fish out under the cats, and the jam out under the children.' (Hayden and Hartog: for Dublin and its neighbourhood: but used also in the South.)Under-board; 'the state of a corpse between death and interment.' (Simmons: Armagh.) 'From the board laid on the breast of the corpse, with a plate of snuff and a Bible or Prayerbook laid on it.' (S. Scott, Derry.)Variety of Phrases, A,185.Venom, generally pronouncedvinnom; energy:—'He does his work with great venom.' An attempted translation from an Irish word that bears more than one meaning, and the wrong meaning is brought into English:—viz.neimorneimh, literallypoison,venom, but figurativelyfierceness,energy. John O'Dugan writes in Irish (500 years ago):—Ris gach ndruing do niad a neim: 'against every tribe they [the Clann Ferrall] exert theirneim' (literally theirpoison, but meaning their energy or bravery). So also the three sons of Fiacha are endowedcoisin neim'with fierceness,' lit. withpoisonorvenom. (Silva Gadelica.) In an old Irish tale a lady looks with intense earnestness on a man she admires: in the Irish it is said 'She putnimh a súlon him, literally the 'venomof her eyes,' meaning the keenest glance of her eyes.Hence over a large part of Ireland, especially the South, you will hear: 'Ah, Dick is a splendid man to hire: he works with suchvenom.' A countryman (Co. Wicklow), speaking of the new National Teacher:—'Indeed sir he's well enough, but for all that he hasn't thevinnomof poor Mr. O'Brien:' i.e. he does not teach with such energy.Very fond; when there is a long spell of rain, frost, &c., people say:—'It is very fond of the rain,' &c.Voteen; a person who is adevoteein religion: nearly always applied in derision to one who is excessively and ostentatiously devotional. (General.)Wad; a wisp of straw or hay pressed tightly together. A broken pane in a window is often stuffed with a wad of straw. 'Careless and gay, like a wad in a window': old saying. (General.)Walsh, Edward,5, &c.Wangle; the handful of straw a thatcher grasps in his left hand from time to time while thatching, twisted up tight at one end. By extension of meaning applied to a tall lanky weak young fellow. (Moran: middle eastern counties.)Wangrace; oatmeal gruel for sick persons. (Simmons: Armagh.)Want; often used in Ulster in the following way:—'I asked Dick to come back to us, for we couldn't want him,' i.e. couldn't do without him.Wap; a bundle of straw; as a verb, to make up straw into a bundle. (Derry and Monaghan.)Warrant; used all over Ireland in the following way—nearly always withgood,better, orbest, but sometimes withbad:—'You're a good warrant (a good hand) to play for us [at hurling] whenever we ax you.' ('Knocknagow.') 'She was a good warrant to give a poor fellow a meal when he wanted it': 'Father Patt gave me a tumbler ofralestiff punch, and the divel a better warrant to make the same was within the province of Connaught.' ('Wild Sports of the West.')Watch-pot; a person who sneaks into houses about meal times hoping to get a bit or to be asked to join.Way. 'A dairyman'sway, a labourer'sway, means the privileges or perquisites which the dairyman or labourer gets, in addition to the main contract. Awaymight be grazing for a sheep, a patch of land for potatoes, &c.' (Healy: for Waterford.)Wearables; articles of clothing. In Tipperary they call the old-fashioned wig 'Dwyer's wearable.'Weather-blade, in Armagh, the same as 'Goureen-roe' in the South, which see.Wee (North), weeny (South); little.Well became. 'When Tom Cullen heard himself insulted by the master, well became him he up and defied him and told him he'd stay no longer in his house.' 'Well became' here expresses approval of Tom's action as being the correct and becoming thing to do. I said to little Patrick 'I don't like to give you any more sweets you're so near your dinner'; and well became him he up and said:—'Oh I get plenty of sweets at home before my dinner.' 'Well became Tom he paid the whole bill.'Wersh, warsh, worsh; insipid, tasteless, needing salt or sugar. (Simmons and Patterson: Ulster.)Wet and dry; 'Tom gets a shilling a day, wet and dry'; i.e. constant work and constant pay in all weathers. (General.)Whack: food, sustenance:—'He gets 2s.6d.a day and hiswhack.'Whassah or fassah; to feed cows in some unusual place, such as along a lane or road: to herd them in unfenced ground. The food so given is also calledwhassah. (Moran: for South Mon.) Irishfásach, a wilderness, any wild place.Whatever; at any rate, anyway, anyhow: usually put in this sense at the end of a sentence:—'Although she can't speak on other days ofthe week, she can speak on Friday, whatever.' ('Collegians.') 'Although you wouldn't take anything else, you'll drink this glass of milk, whatever.' (Munster.)Curious, I find this very idiom in an English book recently published: 'Lord Tweedmouth. Notes and Recollections,' viz.:—'We could not cross the river [in Scotland], but he would go [across]whatever.' The writer evidently borrowed this from the English dialect of the Highlands, where they usewhateverexactly as we do. (William Black: 'A Princess of Thule.') In all these cases, whether Irish or Scotch,whateveris a translation from the Gaelicar mhodh ar bíthor some such phrase.Wheeling. When a fellow went about flourishing a cudgel and shouting out defiance to people to fight him—shouting for his faction, side, or district, he was said to be 'wheeling':—'Here's for Oola!' 'here'sthree years!' 'here's Lillis!' (Munster.) Sometimes calledhurrooing. See 'Three-years-old.'Wheen; a small number, a small quantity:—'I was working for a wheen o' days': 'I'll eat a wheen of these gooseberries.' (Ulster.)Whenever is generally used in Ulster forwhen:—'I was in town this morning and whenever I came home I found the calf dead in the stable.'Which. When a person does not quite catch what another says, there is generally a query:—'eh?' 'what?' or 'what's that you say?' Our people often express this query by the single word 'which?' I knew a highly educated and highlyplaced Dublin official who always so used the word. (General.)Whipster; a bold forward romping impudent girl. (Ulster.) In Limerick it also conveys the idea of a girl inclined towhipor steal things.Whisht, silence: used all over Ireland in such phrases as 'hold your whisht' (or the single word 'whisht'), i.e., be silent. It is the Gaelic wordtost, silence, with the firsttaspirated as it ought to be, which gives it the sound ofh. They pronounce it as if it were writtenthuist, which is exactly soundedwhisht. The same word—taken from the Gaelic of course—is used everywhere in Scotland:—When the Scottish Genius of Poetry appeared suddenly to Burns (in 'The Vision'):—'Ye needna doubt, I held my whisht!'Whisper, whisper here; both used in the sense of 'listen,' 'listen to me':—'Whisper, I want to say something to you,' and then he proceeds to say it, not in a whisper, but in the usual low conversational tone. Very general all over Ireland. 'Whisper' in this usage is simply a translation ofcogar[cogger], and 'whisper here' ofcogar annso; these Irish words being used by Irish speakers exactly as their dialectical English equivalents are used in English: the English usage being taken from the Irish.White-headed boy or white-haired boy; a favourite, a person in favour, whether man or boy:—'Oh you're the white-headed boy now.'Whitterit or whitrit; a weasel. (Ulster.)Whose owe? the same as 'who owns?':—'Whose owe is this book?' Old English. My correspondentstates that this was a common construction in Anglo-Saxon. (Ulster.)Why; a sort of terminal expletive used in some of the Munster counties:—'Tom is a strong boy why': 'Are you going to Ennis why?' 'I am going to Cork why.'Why for? used in Ulster as an equivalent to 'for what?'Why but? 'Why not?' (Ulster.) 'Why but you speak your mind out?' i.e. 'Why should you not?' (Kane: Armagh.)Why then; used very much in the South to begin a sentence, especially a reply, much asindeedis used in English:—'When did you see John Dunn?' 'Why then I met him yesterday at the fair': 'Which do you like best, tea or coffee?' 'Why then I much prefer tea.' 'Why then Pat is that you; and how isevery rope's lengthof you?'Wicked; used in the South in the sense of severe or cross. 'Mr. Manning our schoolmaster is very wicked.'Widow-woman and widow-man; are used forwidowandwidower, especially in Ulster: butwidow-womanis heard everywhere.Wigs on the green; a fight: so called for an obvious reason:—'There will be wigs on the green in the fair to-day.'Will youwas never a good fellow,18,114.Wine or wynd of hay; a small temporary stack of hay, made up on the meadow. All the small wynds are ultimately made up into one large rick or stack in the farmyard.Wipe, a blow: all over Ireland: he gave him a wipe on the face. In Ulster, a goaly-wipe is a great blow on the ball with thecamaunor hurley: such as will send it to the goal.Wire. Towire inis to begin work vigorously: to join in a fight.Wirra; an exclamation generally indicating surprise, sorrow, or vexation: it is the vocative of 'Muire' (A Mhuire), Mary, that is, the Blessed Virgin.Wirrasthru, a term of pity; alas. It is the phonetic form ofA Mhuire is truaigh, 'O Mary it is a pity (or a sorrow),' implying the connexion of the Blessed Virgin with sorrow.Wit; sense, which is the original meaning. But this meaning is nearly lost in England while it is extant everywhere in Ireland:—A sharp Ulster woman, entering her little boy in a Dublin Infant School, begged of the mistress to teach him a littlewut.Witch: black witches are bad; white witches good. (West Donegal.)Wish; esteem, friendship:—'Your father had a great wish for me,' i.e. held me in particular esteem, had a strong friendship. (General.) In this application it is merely the translation of the Irishmeas, respect:—Tá meás mór agum ort; I have great esteem for you, I have a greatwishfor you, I hold you in great respect.Wisha; a softening down ofmossa, which see.With that; thereupon: used all over Ireland. Irishleis sin, which is often used, has the same exact meaning; but still I thinkwith thatis of oldEnglish origin, though the Irish equivalent may have contributed to its popularity.
As young Rory and Moreen were talking,How Shrove Tuesday was just drawing near;For the tenth time he asked her to marry;But says she:—'Time enough till next year.Then ochone I'm going to Skellig:O Moreen, what will I do?'Tis the woeful road to travel;And how lonesome I'll be without you!'[8]
As young Rory and Moreen were talking,How Shrove Tuesday was just drawing near;For the tenth time he asked her to marry;But says she:—'Time enough till next year.Then ochone I'm going to Skellig:O Moreen, what will I do?'Tis the woeful road to travel;And how lonesome I'll be without you!'[8]
As young Rory and Moreen were talking,
How Shrove Tuesday was just drawing near;
For the tenth time he asked her to marry;
But says she:—'Time enough till next year.
Then ochone I'm going to Skellig:
O Moreen, what will I do?
'Tis the woeful road to travel;
And how lonesome I'll be without you!'[8]
Here is a verse from another:—
Poor Andy Callaghan with doleful noseCame up and told his tale of many woes:—Some lucky thief from him his sweetheart stole,Which left a weight of grief upon his soul:With flowing tears he sat upon the grass,And roared sonorous like a braying ass.
Poor Andy Callaghan with doleful noseCame up and told his tale of many woes:—Some lucky thief from him his sweetheart stole,Which left a weight of grief upon his soul:With flowing tears he sat upon the grass,And roared sonorous like a braying ass.
Poor Andy Callaghan with doleful nose
Came up and told his tale of many woes:—
Some lucky thief from him his sweetheart stole,
Which left a weight of grief upon his soul:
With flowing tears he sat upon the grass,
And roared sonorous like a braying ass.
Skelly; to aim askew and miss the mark; to squint. (Patterson: all over Ulster.)
Skelp; a blow, to give a blow or blows; a piece cut off:—'Tom gave Pat a skelp': 'I cut off a skelp of the board with a hatchet.' To run fast:—'There's Joe skelping off to school.'
Skib; a flat basket:—'We found the people collected round a skibb of potatoes.' ('Wild Sports of the West.')
Skidder, skiddher; broken thick milk, stale and sour. (Munster.)
Skillaun. The piece cut out of a potato to be used as seed, containing one germinatingeye, from which the young stalk grows. Several skillauns will be cut from one potato; and the irregular part left is askilloge(Cork and Kerry), or acreelacaun(Limerick). Irishsciollán, same sound and meaning.
Skit; to laugh and giggle in a silly way:—'I'll bebail they didn't skit and laugh.' (Crofton Croker.) 'Skit and laugh,' very common in South.
Skite; a silly frivolous light-headed person. Hence Blatherumskite (South), or (in Ulster), bletherumskite.
Skree; a large number of small things, as a skree of potatoes, a skree of chickens, &c. (Morris: South Monaghan.)
Skull-cure for a bad toothache. Go to the nearest churchyard alone by night, to the corner where human bones are usually heaped up, from which take and bring away a skull. Fill the skull with water, and take a drink from it: that will cure your toothache.
Sky farmer; a term much used in the South with several shades of meaning: but the idea underlying all is a farmer without land, or with only very little—having broken down since the time when he had a big farm—who often keeps a cow or two grazing along the roadsides. Many of these struggling men acted as intermediaries between the big corn merchants and the large farmers in the sale of corn, and got thereby a percentage from the buyers. A 'sky farmer' has his farmin the sky.
Slaan [aalong as theaincar]; a sort of very sharp spade, used in cutting turf or peat. Universal in the South.
Slack-jaw; impudent talk, continuous impertinences:—'I'll have none of your slack-jaw.'
Slang; a narrow strip of land along a stream, not suited to cultivation, but grazed. (Moran: Carlow.)
Sleeveen; a smooth-tongued, sweet-mannered, sly,guileful fellow. Universal all over the South and Middle. Irishslíghbhín, same sound and meaning; fromslígh, a way:binn, sweet, melodious: 'asweet-manneredfellow.'
Slewder, sluder [dsounded likethinsmooth]; a wheedling coaxing fellow: as a verb, to wheedle. Irishsligheadóir[sleedore], same meaning.
Sliggin; a thin flat little stone. (Limerick.) Irish. Primary meaninga shell.
Sling-trot; when a person or an animal is going along [not walking but] trotting or running along at a leisurely pace. (South.)
Slinge [slinj]; to walk along slowly and lazily. In some places, playing truant from school. (South.)
Slip; a young girl. A young pig, older than abonnive, running about almost independent of its mother. (General.)
Slipe; a rude sort of cart or sledge without wheels used for dragging stones from a field. (Ulster.)
Slitther; a kind of thick soft leather: also a ball covered with that leather, for hurling. (Limerick.)
Sliver; a piece of anything broken or cut off, especially cut off longitudinally. An old English word, obsolete in England, but still quite common in Munster.
Slob; a soft fat quiet simple-minded girl or boy:—'Your little Nellie is a quiet poor slob': used as a term of endearment.
Sloke, sloak, sluke, sloukaun; a sea plant of the family oflaverfound growing on rocks round the coast, which is esteemed a table delicacy—dark-coloured, almost black; often pickled and eaten with pepper, vinegar, &c. Seen in all the Dublinfish shops. The name, which is now known all over the Three Kingdoms, is anglicised from Irishsleabhac,sleabhacán[slouk, sloukaun].
Slug; a drink: as a verb, to drink:—'Here take a little slug from this and 'twill do you good.' Irishslogto swallow by drinking. (General.) Whencesluggaandsluggera, a cavity in a river-bed into which the water issluggedor swallowed.
Slugabed; a sluggard. (General in Limerick.) Old English, obsolete in England:—'Fie, you slug-a-bed.' ('Romeo and Juliet.')
Slush; to work and toil like a slave: a woman who toils hard. (General.)
Slut; a torch made by dipping a long wick in resin. (Armagh.) Called apaudheogein Munster.
Smaadher [aalikeaincar]; to break in pieces. Jim Foley was on apooka'sback on the top of an old castle, and he was afraid he'd 'tumble down and besmatheredto a thousand pieces.' (Ir. Mag.)
Smalkera; a rude home-made wooden spoon.
Small-clothes; kneebreeches. (Limerick.) So called to avoid the plain termbreeches, as we now often sayinexpressibles.
Small farmer; has a small farm with small stock of cattle: a struggling man as distinguished from a 'strong' farmer.
Smeg, smeggeen, smiggin; a tuft of hair on the chin. (General.) Merely the Irishsmeig,smeigín; same sounds and meaning.
Smithereens; broken fragments after a smash,4.
Smullock [to rhyme withbullock]; a fillip of the finger. (Limerick.) Irishsmallóg, same meaning.
Smur, smoor, fine thick mist. (North.) Irishsmúr, mist.
Smush [to rhyme withbush]: anything reduced to fine small fragments, like straw or hay, dry peat-mould in dust, &c.
Smush, used contemptuously for the mouth, a hairy mouth:—'I don't like your uglysmush.'
Snachta-shaidhaun: dry powdery snow blown about by the wind. Irishsneachta, snow, andséideán, a breeze. (South.)
Snaggle-tooth; a person with some teeth gone so as to leave gaps.
Snap-apple; a play with apples on Hallow-eve, where big apples are placed in difficult positions and are to be caught by the teeth of the persons playing. Hence Hallow-Eve is often called 'Snap-apple night.'
Snauvaun; to move about slowly and lazily. From Irishsnámh[snauv], to swim, with the diminutive:—Moving slowly like a person swimming.
Sned; to clip off, to cut away, like the leaves and roots of a turnip. Sned also means the handle of a scythe.
Snig; to cut or clip with a knife:—'The shoots of that apple-tree are growing out too long: I must snig off the tops of them.'
Snish; neatness in clothes. (Morris: Carlow.)
Snoboge; a rosin torch. (Moran: Carlow.) Same asslutandpaudheoge.
Snoke; to scent or snuff about like a dog. (Derry.)
So. This has some special dialectical senses among us. It is used forif:—'I will pay you wellsoyou do the work to my liking.' This is old English:—'I am contentsothou wilt have it so.'('Rom. and Jul.') It is used as a sort of emphatic expletive carrying accent or emphasis:—'Will you keep that farm?' 'I willso,' i.e. 'I will for certain.' 'Take care and don't break them' (the dishes): 'I won'tso.' ('Collegians.') It is used in the sense of 'in that case':—'I am not going to town to-day'; 'Oh well I will not go,so'—i.e. 'as you are not going.'
Sock; the tubular or half-tubular part of a spade or shovel that holds the handle. Irishsoc.
Soft day; a wet day. (A usual salute.)
Soil; fresh-cut grass for cattle.
Sold; betrayed, outwitted:—'If that doesn't frighten him off you're sold' (caught in the trap, betrayed, ruined. Edw. Walsh in Ir. Pen. Journal).
Something like; excellent:—'That's something like a horse,' i.e. a fine horse and no mistake.
Sonaghan; a kind of trout that appears in certain lakes in November, coming from the rivers. (Prof. J. Cooke,M.A., of Dublin: for Ulster):—Irishsamhain[sowan], November:samhnachánwith the diminutiveánorchán, 'November-fellow.'
Sonoohar; a good wife, a good partner in marriage; a good marriage: generally used in the form of a wish:—'Thankee sir and sonoohar to you.' Irishsonuachar, same sound and meaning.
Sonsy; fortunate, prosperous. Also well-looking and healthy:—'A finesonsygirl.' Irishsonas, luck;sonasach,sonasaigh, same sound and meaning.
Soogan, sugan, sugaun; a straw or hay rope twisted by the hand.
Soss; a short trifling fall with no harm beyond a smart shock. (Moran: Carlow.)
Sough; a whistling or sighing noise like that of the wind through trees. 'Keep a calm sough' means keep quiet, keep silence. (Ulster.)
Soulth; 'a formless luminous apparition.' (W. B. Yeats.) Irishsamhailt[soulth], a ghost, an apparition;lit.a 'likeness,' fromsamhai[sowel], like.
Sources of Anglo-Irish Dialect,1.
Sowans, sowens; a sort of flummery or gruel usually made and eaten on Hallow Eve. Very general in Ulster and Scotland; merely the Irish wordsamhain, the first of November; for Hallow Eve is really a November feast, as being the eve of the first of that month. In old times in Ireland, the evening went with the coming night.
Spalpeen. Spalpeens were labouring men—reapers, mowers, potato-diggers, &c.—who travelled about in the autumn seeking employment from the farmers, each with his spade, or his scythe, or his reaping-hook. They congregated in the towns on market and fair days, where the farmers of the surrounding districts came to hire them. Each farmer brought home his own men, fed them on good potatoes and milk, and sent them to sleep in the barn on dry straw—a bed—as one of them said to me—'a bed fit for a lord, let alone a spalpeen.' The wordspalpeenis now used in the sense of a low rascal. Irishspailpín, same sound and meaning. (See my 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs,' p. 216; and for the Ulster term see Rabble above.)
Spaug; a big clumsy foot:—'You put your ugly spaug down on my handkerchief.' Irishspág, same sound and sense.
Speel; to climb. (Patterson: Ulster.)
Spink; a sharp rock, a precipice. (Tyrone.)Splinkin Donegal. Irishspinncandsplinnc, same sounds and meaning.
Spit; the soil dug up and turned over, forming a long trench as deep as the spade will go. 'He dug down three spits before he came to the gravel.'
Spoileen; a coarse kind of soap made out of scraps of inferior grease and meat: often sold cheap at fairs and markets. (Derry and Tyrone.) Irishspóilín, a small bit of meat.
Spoocher; a sort of large wooden shovel chiefly used for lifting small fish out of a boat. (Ulster.)
Spreece; red-hot embers, chiefly ashes. (South.) Irishsprís, same sound and meaning. Same asgreesagh.
Sprissaun; an insignificant contemptible little chap. Irishspriosán[same sound], the original meaning of which is a twig or spray from a bush. (South.)
'To the devil I pitch ye ye set of sprissauns.'(Old Folk Song, for which see my 'Ancient IrishMusic,' p. 85.)
'To the devil I pitch ye ye set of sprissauns.'
'To the devil I pitch ye ye set of sprissauns.'
(Old Folk Song, for which see my 'Ancient IrishMusic,' p. 85.)
(Old Folk Song, for which see my 'Ancient Irish
Music,' p. 85.)
Sprong: a four-pronged manure fork. (MacCall: South-east counties.)
Spruggil, spruggilla; the craw of a fowl. (Morris: South Monaghan.) Irishsprogal[spruggal], with that meaning and several others.
Sprunge [sprunj], any animal miserable and small for its age. (Ulster.)
Spuds; potatoes.
Spunk; tinder, now usually made by steepingbrown paper in a solution of nitre; lately gone out of use from the prevalence of matches. Often applied in Ulster and Scotland to a spark of fire: 'See is there a spunk of fire in the hearth.' Spunk also denotes spirit, courage, and dash. 'Hasn't Dick great spunk to face that big fellow, twice his size?'
'I'm sure if you had not been drunkWith whiskey, rum, or brandy—O,You would not have the gallant spunkTo be half so bold or manly—O.'(Old Irish Folk Song.)
'I'm sure if you had not been drunkWith whiskey, rum, or brandy—O,You would not have the gallant spunkTo be half so bold or manly—O.'
'I'm sure if you had not been drunk
With whiskey, rum, or brandy—O,
You would not have the gallant spunk
To be half so bold or manly—O.'
(Old Irish Folk Song.)
(Old Irish Folk Song.)
Irishsponnc.
Spy farleys; to pry into secrets: to visit a house, in order to spy about what's going on. (Ulster.)
Spy-Wednesday; the Wednesday before Easter. According to the religious legend it got the name because on the Wednesday before the Crucifixion Judas was spying about how best he could deliver up our Lord. (General.)
Squireen; an Irish gentleman in a small way who apes the manners, the authoritative tone, and the aristocratic bearing of the large landed proprietors. Sometimes you can hardly distinguish a squireen from ahalf-siror from ashoneen. Sometimes the squireen was the son of the old squire: a worthless young fellow, who loafed about doing nothing, instead of earning an honest livelihood: but he was too grand for that. The word is a diminutive ofsquire, applied here in contempt, like many other diminutives. The class of squireen is nearly extinct: 'Joy be with them.'
Stackan; the stump of a tree remaining after thetree itself has been cut or blown down. (Simmons: Armagh.) Irishstaic, a stake, with the diminutive.
Stad; the same assthallk, which see.
Stag; a potato rendered worthless or bad by frost or decay.
Stag; a cold-hearted unfeeling selfish woman.
Stag; an informer, who turns round and betrays his comrades:—'The two worst informers against a private [pottheen] distiller, barring astag, are a smoke by day and a fire by night.' (Carleton in 'Ir. Pen. Journ.') 'Do you think me astag, that I'd inform on you.' (Ibid.)
Staggeen [thetsounded likethinthank], a worn-out worthless old horse.
Stand to or by a person, to act as his friend; to standforan infant, to be his sponsor in baptism. The people hardly ever say, 'I'm his godfather,' but 'I stood for him.'
Stare; the usual name for a starling (bird) in Ireland.
Station. The celebration of Mass with confessions and Holy Communion in a private house by the parish priest or one of his curates, for the convenience of the family and their neighbours, to enable them the more easily to receive the sacraments. Latterly the custom has been falling into disuse.
Staukan-vorraga [tsounded likethinthorn], a small high rick of turf in a market from which portions were continually sold away and as continually replaced: so that thesthaucastood always in the people's way. Applied also to a big awkward fellow always visiting when he's not wanted, andalways in the way. (John Davis White, of Clonmel.) Irishstáca 'n mharga[sthaucan-vorraga], the 'market stake or stack.'
Stelk or stallk; mashed potatoes mixed with beans or chopped vegetables. (North.)
Sthallk; a fit of sulk in a horse—or in a child. (Munster.) Irishstailc, same sound and meaning.
Sthoakagh; a big idle wandering vagabond fellow. (South.) Irishstócach, same sound and meaning.
Sthowl; a jet or splash of water or of any liquid. (South.) Irishsteall, same sound and meaning.
Stim or stime; a very small quantity, aniota, an atom, a particle:—'You'll never have a stim of sense' ('Knocknagow'): 'I couldn't see a stim in the darkness.'
Stook; a shock of corn, generally containing twelve sheaves. (General.) Irishstuaic, same sound and meaning, with several other meanings.
Stoon; a fit, the worst of a fit: same as Englishstound: a sting of pain:—'Well Bridget how is the toothache?' 'Ah well sir the stoon is off.' (De Vismes Kane: Ulster.)
Store pig; a pig nearly full grown, almost ready to be fattened. (Munster.)
Str. Most of the following words beginning withstrare derived from Irish words beginning withsr. For as this combinationsrdoes not exist in English, when an Irish word with this beginning is borrowed into English, atis always inserted between thesandrto bring it into conformity with English usage and to render it more easily pronounced by English-speaking tongues. See this subject discussed in 'Irish Names of Places,'vol.I., p. 60. Moreover thetinstris almost always sounded the same asthinthink,thank.
Straar or sthraar [to rhyme withstar]; the rough straddle which supports the back band of a horse's harness—coming between the horse's back and the band. (Derry.) The old Irish wordsrathar[same sound], a straddle, a pack-saddle.
Straddy; a street-walker, an idle person always sauntering along the streets. There is a fine Irish air named 'The Straddy' in my 'Old Irish Music and Songs,' p. 310. From Irishsráid, a street.
Strahane, strahaun,struhane; a very small stream like a mill stream or an artificial stream to a pottheen still. Irishsruth[sruh] stream, with dim.
Strammel; a big tall bony fellow. (Limerick.)
Strap; a bold forward girl or woman; the word often conveys a sense slightly leaning towards lightness of character.
Strath; a term used in many parts of Ireland to denote the level watery meadow-land along a river. Irishsrath.
Stravage [to rhyme withplague]; to roam about idly:—'He is alwaysstravagingthe streets.' In Ulster it is madestavage.
Streel; a very common word all through Ireland to denote a lazy untidy woman—a slattern: often madestreelogein Connaught, the same word with the diminutive. As a verb,streelis used in the sense of to drag along in an untidy way:—'Her dress was streeling in the mud.' Irishsríl[sreel], same meanings.
Streel is sometimes applied to an untidy slovenly-looking man too, as I once heard itapplied under odd circumstances when I was very young. Bartholomew Power was long and lanky, with his clothes hanging loose on him. On the morning when he and his newly-married wife—whom I knew well, and who was then no chicken—were setting out for his home, I walked a bit of the way with the happy bride to take leave of her. Just when we were about to part, she turned and said to me—these were her very words—'Well Mr. Joyce, you know the number of nice young men I came across in my day (naming half a dozen of them), and,' said she—nodding towards the bride-groom, who was walking by the car a few perches in front—'isn't it a heart-scald that at the end of all I have now to walk off with that streel of a devil.'
Strickle; a scythe-sharpener covered with emery, (Simmons: Armagh.)
Strig; thestrippingsor milk that comes last from a cow. (Morris: South Monaghan.)
Striffin; the thin pellicle or skin on the inside of an egg-shell. (Ulster.)
Strippings; the same as strig, the last of the milk that comes from the cow at milking—always the richest. Often called in Munstersniug.
Stroansha; a big idle lazy lump of a girl, always gadding about. Irishstróinse, same sound and meaning.
Strock´ara [accent onstrock-]; a very hard-working man. (Munster.) Irishstracaire, same sound and meaning, with several other meanings.
Strong; well in health, without any reference to muscular strength. 'How is your mother these times?' 'She's very strong now thank God.'
Strong farmer; a very well-to-do prosperous farmer, with a large farm and much cattle. In contradistinction to a 'small farmer.'
Stroup or stroop; the spout of a kettle or teapot or the lip of a jug. (Ulster.)
Strunt; to sulk. (Simmons: Armagh.) Same assthallkfor the South.
Stum; a sulky silent person. (Antrim and Down.)
Stumpy; a kind of coarse heavy cake made from grated potatoes from which the starch has been squeezed out: also called muddly. (Munster.)
Sturk, stirk, sterk; a heifer or bullock about two years old: a pig three or four months old. Often applied to a stout low-sized boy or girl. Irishstorc.
Sugan; a straw or hay rope: same as soogan.
Sugeen; water in which oatmeal has been steeped: often drunk by workmen on a hot day in place of plain water. (Roscommon.) From Ir.sugh, juice.
Sulter; great heat [of a day]: a word formed fromsultry:—'There's greatsultherto-day.'
Summachaun; a soft innocent child. (Munster.) Irishsomachán, same sound and meaning. In Connaught it means a big ignorant puffed up booby of a fellow.
Sup; one mouthful of liquid: a small quantity drunk at one time. This is English:—'I took a small sup of rum.' ('Robinson Crusoe.') 'We all take a sup in our turn.' (Irish Folk Song.)
Sure; one of our commonest opening words for a sentence: you will hear it perpetually among gentle and simple: 'Don't forget to lock up the fowls.' 'Sure I did that an hour ago.' 'Sureyou won't forget to call here on your way back?' 'James, sure I sold my cows.'
Swan-skin; the thin finely-woven flannel bought in shops; so called to distinguish it from the coarse heavy home-made flannel. (Limerick.)
Swearing,66.
Tally-iron or tallin-iron; the iron forcrimpingor curling up the borders of women's caps. A corruption ofItalian-iron.
Targe; a scolding woman, abarge. (Ulster.)
Tartles: ragged clothes; torn pieces of dress. (Ulster.)
Taste; a small bit or amount of anything:—'He has no taste of pride': 'Aren't you ashamed of yourself?' 'Not a taste': 'Could you give me the least taste in life of a bit of soap?'
Tat, tait; a tangled or matted wad or mass of hair on a girl or on an animal. 'Come here till I comb thetatsout of your hair. (Ulster.) Irishtath[tah]. In the anglicised word the aspiratedt(th), which sounds likehin Irish, is restored to its full sound in the process of anglicisation in accordance with a law which will be found explained in 'Irish Names of Places,' vol. i., pp. 42-48.
Teem; to strain off or pour off water or any liquid. Toteempotatoes is to pour the water off them when they are boiled. In a like sense we say it isteemingrain. Irishtaom, same sound and sense.
Ten commandments. 'She put her ten commandments on his face,' i.e. she scratched his face with her ten finger-nails. (MacCall: Wexford.)
Tent; the quantity of ink taken up at one time by a pen.
Terr; a provoking ignorant presumptuous fellow. (Moran: Carlow.)
Thacka, thuck-ya, thackeen, thuckeen; a little girl. (South.) Irishtoice,toicín[thucka, thuckeen].
Thaheen; a handful of flax or hay. Irishtath,taithín[thah, thaheen], same meaning. (Same Irish word as Tat above: but inthaheenthe finaltis aspirated toh, following the Irish word.)
Thauloge: a boarded-off square enclosure at one side of the kitchen fire-place of a farmhouse, where candlesticks, brushes, wet boots, &c., are put. (Moran: Carlow.)
Thayvaun or theevaun; the short beam of the roof crossing from one rafter to the opposite one. (South.) Irishtaobh[thaiv], a 'side,' with the diminutive.
Theeveen; a patch on the side of a shoe. (General.) Irishtaobh[thaiv], a side with the dim.een; taoibhín [theeveen], 'little side.'
Thick; closely acquainted: same meaning as 'Great,' which see. 'Dick is very thick with Joe now.'
Thiescaun thyscaun, [thice-caun], or thayscaun: a quantity of anything, as a small load of hay drawn by a horse: 'When you're coming home with the cart from the bog, you may as well bring a littlethyscaunof turf. (South.) Irishtaoscán[thayscaun], same meaning.
Think long: to be longing for anything—home, friends, an event, &c. (North.) 'I am thinking long till I see my mother.'
Thirteen. When the English and Irish currencies were different, the English shilling was worth thirteen pence in Ireland: hence a shilling was called athirteenin Ireland:—'I gave the captain six thirteens to ferry me over to Park-gate.' (Irish Folk Song.)
Thivish; a spectre, a ghost. (General.) Irishtaidhbhse[thivshe], same meaning.
Thole; to endure, to bear:—'I had to thole hardship and want while you were away.' (All over Ulster.)
Thon, thonder; yon, yonder:—'Not a tree or a thing only thon wee couple of poor whins that's blowing up thonder on the rise.' (Seumas MacManus, for North-West Ulster.)
Thoun´thabock: a good beating. Literally 'strong tobacco: Ir.teann-tabac[same sound]. 'If you don't mind your business, I'll give you thounthabock.'
Thrape or threep; to assert vehemently, boldly, and in a manner not to brook contradiction. Common in Meath and from that northward.
Thrashbag; several pockets sewed one above another along a strip of strong cloth for holding thread, needles, buttons, &c., and rolled up when not in use. (Moran: Carlow.)
Thraulagh, or thaulagh; a soreness or pain in the wrist of a reaper, caused by work. (Connaught.) Irish—two forms—trálachandtádhlach[thraulagh, thaulagh.]
Three-na-haila; mixed up all in confusion:—'I must arrange my books and papers: they are allthree-na-haila.' (South.) Irishtrí n-a chéile, 'through each other.' The translation 'through-other' is universal in Ulster.
Three-years-old and Four-years-old; the names of two hostile factions in the counties of Limerick, Tipperary, and Cork, of the early part of last century, who fought whenever they met, either individually or in numbers, each faction led by its redoubtable chief. The weapons were sticks, but sometimes stones were used. We boys took immense delight in witnessing those fights, keeping at a safe distance however for fear of a stray stone. Three-years and Four-years battles were fought in New Pallas in Tipperary down to a few years ago.
Thrisloge; a long step in walking, a long jump. (Munster.) Irishtrioslóg, same sound.
Throllop; an untidy woman, a slattern, astreel. (Banim: very general in the South.)
Thurmus, thurrumus; to sulk from food. (Munster.) Irishtoirmesc[thurrumask], same meaning:—'Billy won't eat his supper: he isthurrumusing.'
Tibb's-Eve; 'neither before nor after Christmas,' i.e., never: 'Oh you'll get your money by Tibb's-Eve.'
Till; used in many parts of Ireland in the sense of 'in order that':—'Come here MickytillI comb your hair.'
Tilly; a small quantity of anything given over and above the quantity purchased. Milkmen usually give a tilly with the pint or quart. Irishtuilledh, same sound and meaning. Very general.
Tinges; goods that remain long in a draper's hands. (Moran: Carlow.)
Togher [toher]; a road constructed through a bog or swamp; often of brambles or wickerwork covered over with gravel and stones.
Tootn-egg [3-syll.], a peculiar-shaped brass or white-metal button, having the stem fastened by a conical-shaped bit of metal. I have seen it explained astooth-and-egg; but I believe this to be a guess. (Limerick.)
Tory-top; the seed cone of a fir-tree. (South.)
Towards; in comparison with:—'That's a fine horse towards the one you had before.'
Tradesman; an artisan, a working mechanic. In Ireland the word is hardly ever applied to a shopkeeper.
Trake; a long tiresome walk: 'you gave me a great trake for nothing,' (Ulster.)
Tram or tram-cock; a hay-cock—rather a small one. (Moran: Carlow.)
Trams; the ends of the cart shafts that project behind. (North.) Calledheelsin the South.
Trance; the name given in Munster to the children's game of Scotch hop or pickey.
Traneen or trawneen; a long slender grass-stalk, like a knitting-needle. Used all over Ireland. In some placescushoge.
Travel; used in Ulster for walking as distinguished from driving or riding:—'Did you drive to Derry?' 'Oh no, I travelled.'
Trice; to make an agreement or bargain. (Simmons: Armagh.)
Triheens; a pair of stockings with only the legs: the two feet cut off. It is the Irishtroigh[thro], a foot, with the diminutive—troighthín[triheen]. In Roscommon this word is applied to the handle of a loy or spade which has been broken and patched together again. (Connaught and Munster.)
Trindle; the wheel of a wheelbarrow. (Morris for South Monaghan.)
Trinket; a small artificial channel for water: often across and under a road. (Simmons and Patterson: East Ulster.) See Linthern.
Turf; peat for fuel: used in this sense all over Ireland. We hardly ever use the word in the sense of 'Where heaves theturfin many a mouldering heap.'
Turk; an ill-natured surly boorish fellow.
Twig; to understand, to discern, to catch the point:—'When I hinted at what I wanted, he twigged me at once.' Irishtuig[twig], to understand.
Ubbabo; an exclamation of wonder or surprise;—'Ubbabo,' said the old woman, 'we'll soon see to that.' (Crofton Croker.)
Ullagone; an exclamation of sorrow; a name applied to any lamentation:—'So I sat down ... and began to sing the Ullagone.' (Crofton Croker.) 'Mike was ullagoning all day after you left.' (Irish.)
Ullilu; an interjection of sorrow equivalent to the Englishalasoralack and well-a-day. (Irish.)
Unbe-knownst; unknown, secret. (De Vismes Kane for Monaghan: but used very generally.)
Under has its peculiar uses:—'She left the fish out under the cats, and the jam out under the children.' (Hayden and Hartog: for Dublin and its neighbourhood: but used also in the South.)
Under-board; 'the state of a corpse between death and interment.' (Simmons: Armagh.) 'From the board laid on the breast of the corpse, with a plate of snuff and a Bible or Prayerbook laid on it.' (S. Scott, Derry.)
Variety of Phrases, A,185.
Venom, generally pronouncedvinnom; energy:—'He does his work with great venom.' An attempted translation from an Irish word that bears more than one meaning, and the wrong meaning is brought into English:—viz.neimorneimh, literallypoison,venom, but figurativelyfierceness,energy. John O'Dugan writes in Irish (500 years ago):—Ris gach ndruing do niad a neim: 'against every tribe they [the Clann Ferrall] exert theirneim' (literally theirpoison, but meaning their energy or bravery). So also the three sons of Fiacha are endowedcoisin neim'with fierceness,' lit. withpoisonorvenom. (Silva Gadelica.) In an old Irish tale a lady looks with intense earnestness on a man she admires: in the Irish it is said 'She putnimh a súlon him, literally the 'venomof her eyes,' meaning the keenest glance of her eyes.
Hence over a large part of Ireland, especially the South, you will hear: 'Ah, Dick is a splendid man to hire: he works with suchvenom.' A countryman (Co. Wicklow), speaking of the new National Teacher:—'Indeed sir he's well enough, but for all that he hasn't thevinnomof poor Mr. O'Brien:' i.e. he does not teach with such energy.
Very fond; when there is a long spell of rain, frost, &c., people say:—'It is very fond of the rain,' &c.
Voteen; a person who is adevoteein religion: nearly always applied in derision to one who is excessively and ostentatiously devotional. (General.)
Wad; a wisp of straw or hay pressed tightly together. A broken pane in a window is often stuffed with a wad of straw. 'Careless and gay, like a wad in a window': old saying. (General.)
Walsh, Edward,5, &c.
Wangle; the handful of straw a thatcher grasps in his left hand from time to time while thatching, twisted up tight at one end. By extension of meaning applied to a tall lanky weak young fellow. (Moran: middle eastern counties.)
Wangrace; oatmeal gruel for sick persons. (Simmons: Armagh.)
Want; often used in Ulster in the following way:—'I asked Dick to come back to us, for we couldn't want him,' i.e. couldn't do without him.
Wap; a bundle of straw; as a verb, to make up straw into a bundle. (Derry and Monaghan.)
Warrant; used all over Ireland in the following way—nearly always withgood,better, orbest, but sometimes withbad:—'You're a good warrant (a good hand) to play for us [at hurling] whenever we ax you.' ('Knocknagow.') 'She was a good warrant to give a poor fellow a meal when he wanted it': 'Father Patt gave me a tumbler ofralestiff punch, and the divel a better warrant to make the same was within the province of Connaught.' ('Wild Sports of the West.')
Watch-pot; a person who sneaks into houses about meal times hoping to get a bit or to be asked to join.
Way. 'A dairyman'sway, a labourer'sway, means the privileges or perquisites which the dairyman or labourer gets, in addition to the main contract. Awaymight be grazing for a sheep, a patch of land for potatoes, &c.' (Healy: for Waterford.)
Wearables; articles of clothing. In Tipperary they call the old-fashioned wig 'Dwyer's wearable.'
Weather-blade, in Armagh, the same as 'Goureen-roe' in the South, which see.
Wee (North), weeny (South); little.
Well became. 'When Tom Cullen heard himself insulted by the master, well became him he up and defied him and told him he'd stay no longer in his house.' 'Well became' here expresses approval of Tom's action as being the correct and becoming thing to do. I said to little Patrick 'I don't like to give you any more sweets you're so near your dinner'; and well became him he up and said:—'Oh I get plenty of sweets at home before my dinner.' 'Well became Tom he paid the whole bill.'
Wersh, warsh, worsh; insipid, tasteless, needing salt or sugar. (Simmons and Patterson: Ulster.)
Wet and dry; 'Tom gets a shilling a day, wet and dry'; i.e. constant work and constant pay in all weathers. (General.)
Whack: food, sustenance:—'He gets 2s.6d.a day and hiswhack.'
Whassah or fassah; to feed cows in some unusual place, such as along a lane or road: to herd them in unfenced ground. The food so given is also calledwhassah. (Moran: for South Mon.) Irishfásach, a wilderness, any wild place.
Whatever; at any rate, anyway, anyhow: usually put in this sense at the end of a sentence:—'Although she can't speak on other days ofthe week, she can speak on Friday, whatever.' ('Collegians.') 'Although you wouldn't take anything else, you'll drink this glass of milk, whatever.' (Munster.)
Curious, I find this very idiom in an English book recently published: 'Lord Tweedmouth. Notes and Recollections,' viz.:—'We could not cross the river [in Scotland], but he would go [across]whatever.' The writer evidently borrowed this from the English dialect of the Highlands, where they usewhateverexactly as we do. (William Black: 'A Princess of Thule.') In all these cases, whether Irish or Scotch,whateveris a translation from the Gaelicar mhodh ar bíthor some such phrase.
Wheeling. When a fellow went about flourishing a cudgel and shouting out defiance to people to fight him—shouting for his faction, side, or district, he was said to be 'wheeling':—'Here's for Oola!' 'here'sthree years!' 'here's Lillis!' (Munster.) Sometimes calledhurrooing. See 'Three-years-old.'
Wheen; a small number, a small quantity:—'I was working for a wheen o' days': 'I'll eat a wheen of these gooseberries.' (Ulster.)
Whenever is generally used in Ulster forwhen:—'I was in town this morning and whenever I came home I found the calf dead in the stable.'
Which. When a person does not quite catch what another says, there is generally a query:—'eh?' 'what?' or 'what's that you say?' Our people often express this query by the single word 'which?' I knew a highly educated and highlyplaced Dublin official who always so used the word. (General.)
Whipster; a bold forward romping impudent girl. (Ulster.) In Limerick it also conveys the idea of a girl inclined towhipor steal things.
Whisht, silence: used all over Ireland in such phrases as 'hold your whisht' (or the single word 'whisht'), i.e., be silent. It is the Gaelic wordtost, silence, with the firsttaspirated as it ought to be, which gives it the sound ofh. They pronounce it as if it were writtenthuist, which is exactly soundedwhisht. The same word—taken from the Gaelic of course—is used everywhere in Scotland:—When the Scottish Genius of Poetry appeared suddenly to Burns (in 'The Vision'):—'Ye needna doubt, I held my whisht!'
Whisper, whisper here; both used in the sense of 'listen,' 'listen to me':—'Whisper, I want to say something to you,' and then he proceeds to say it, not in a whisper, but in the usual low conversational tone. Very general all over Ireland. 'Whisper' in this usage is simply a translation ofcogar[cogger], and 'whisper here' ofcogar annso; these Irish words being used by Irish speakers exactly as their dialectical English equivalents are used in English: the English usage being taken from the Irish.
White-headed boy or white-haired boy; a favourite, a person in favour, whether man or boy:—'Oh you're the white-headed boy now.'
Whitterit or whitrit; a weasel. (Ulster.)
Whose owe? the same as 'who owns?':—'Whose owe is this book?' Old English. My correspondentstates that this was a common construction in Anglo-Saxon. (Ulster.)
Why; a sort of terminal expletive used in some of the Munster counties:—'Tom is a strong boy why': 'Are you going to Ennis why?' 'I am going to Cork why.'
Why for? used in Ulster as an equivalent to 'for what?'
Why but? 'Why not?' (Ulster.) 'Why but you speak your mind out?' i.e. 'Why should you not?' (Kane: Armagh.)
Why then; used very much in the South to begin a sentence, especially a reply, much asindeedis used in English:—'When did you see John Dunn?' 'Why then I met him yesterday at the fair': 'Which do you like best, tea or coffee?' 'Why then I much prefer tea.' 'Why then Pat is that you; and how isevery rope's lengthof you?'
Wicked; used in the South in the sense of severe or cross. 'Mr. Manning our schoolmaster is very wicked.'
Widow-woman and widow-man; are used forwidowandwidower, especially in Ulster: butwidow-womanis heard everywhere.
Wigs on the green; a fight: so called for an obvious reason:—'There will be wigs on the green in the fair to-day.'
Will youwas never a good fellow,18,114.
Wine or wynd of hay; a small temporary stack of hay, made up on the meadow. All the small wynds are ultimately made up into one large rick or stack in the farmyard.
Wipe, a blow: all over Ireland: he gave him a wipe on the face. In Ulster, a goaly-wipe is a great blow on the ball with thecamaunor hurley: such as will send it to the goal.
Wire. Towire inis to begin work vigorously: to join in a fight.
Wirra; an exclamation generally indicating surprise, sorrow, or vexation: it is the vocative of 'Muire' (A Mhuire), Mary, that is, the Blessed Virgin.
Wirrasthru, a term of pity; alas. It is the phonetic form ofA Mhuire is truaigh, 'O Mary it is a pity (or a sorrow),' implying the connexion of the Blessed Virgin with sorrow.
Wit; sense, which is the original meaning. But this meaning is nearly lost in England while it is extant everywhere in Ireland:—A sharp Ulster woman, entering her little boy in a Dublin Infant School, begged of the mistress to teach him a littlewut.
Witch: black witches are bad; white witches good. (West Donegal.)
Wish; esteem, friendship:—'Your father had a great wish for me,' i.e. held me in particular esteem, had a strong friendship. (General.) In this application it is merely the translation of the Irishmeas, respect:—Tá meás mór agum ort; I have great esteem for you, I have a greatwishfor you, I hold you in great respect.
Wisha; a softening down ofmossa, which see.
With that; thereupon: used all over Ireland. Irishleis sin, which is often used, has the same exact meaning; but still I thinkwith thatis of oldEnglish origin, though the Irish equivalent may have contributed to its popularity.