Corpas

Feis Laighean agus Midhe.

Comórtas 3.

Irish words used in the spoken English of Farney
in South Monaghan.  Those underlined are, to me, 
doubtful; some of them may be old English. 

Áird - direction; point of the compass.
It is pronounced with the final 
consonant hard, like "art."

ált - the steep side of a glen.

arcán, arcorán - a little pig, the worst in the litter.
A term of reproach when applied 
to persons.  Arcán is found in 
O'Reilly. 

arganach - a small multiped insect of a 
yellowish colour.

adóg - a small stack of oats made in the 
field previous to bringing it into 
the haggard. 

Báisleóg - a handful of water.  "Throw a
báisleóg on that apron, and 
leave it out" = "Give it a slight
washing and put it out to dry."
O'Reilly has baisleach = a hand-
ful of anything.  But báisleóg
may be báisdleóg with the d
slurred in pronunciation.

buimlear - a stupid fellow; generally applied
as a nickname.  In O'R.

báinseóg - a small level piece of ground; a 
bunch of anything growing close 
and level on the top, as "a
báinseóg of shamrocks," "a
báinseóg of potatoes."

buailteán - a part of a flail - the part that
strikes the corn.

brídeóg - a bride.  Rarely used.

botán - a bundle of straw tied up.  O'R.
has boiteán.

brosnach or 
brusnach - small sticks and brambles used for
firewood.  O'R. has brus = 
small branches of trees.

buinneach - a flux.  Rare.  In O'R. 

brachán - thin porridge, gruel.  In O'R.

bracach - pock-marked.  In O'R. 

bamhdóir - a person noted as a busybody for
making matches and bringing 
about marriages.  Rarely used 
though.

brigleán - a term of reproach not easy to 
define; a sottish, worthless
person.

bócán - (ó having the northern "aw"
sound) = a blunt, stupid fellow.

bróg - (here ó has the ō sound) = a shoe.

bárrdóg - a kind of box, two of which are
carried by a beast of burden,
the same as panniers; but a 
bárrdóg is made of boards, not 
of wicker.

banther - to compete.  banthering = com-
peting.  A very common word.

blob - a blister or vesicle on the skin;
also a stain on paper; usually
appied to an ink stain, perhaps
from the blister-like appearance
of a drop of ink on paper.
"There's a blob on my copy."

brí-brith - baby's food, panada.

brocstaigh - same as brocach, the face marked
from small-pox.

bamhlán and 
bamhlán buidhe - the ragweed, or ragwort. O'R
has bofulan buidhe.

bodhan or budhan - a number of men engaged in one
work.  "a bone of flax" = a
number of men pulling flax.
This word is very probably 
buidhean, a host, a company, but
it is not so pronounced.

bráiscín - an apron.

barramha - light or tail corn; "tailings."

bosctaigh - bread made from potatoes grated 
raw.  Used both as noun and
adj., with bread.

bánuigh - to rub very softly and gently, and
with the grain: as "to baany
the poor cat."

brais - a stroke or two in churning: but I
think the word refers to the 
plashing agitation of the milk
caused by the stroke.  They 
also say a "water-brash," mean-
ing a vomiting of water.

blámás - soft, flattering talk.

báire - a goal in football.  It is dying out 
since the introduction of the
modern football, and the English
terminology of "goals" and
"points."

breacaid - speckled, mottled.

bocán - a rude kind of hinge for a gate - 
<L 26>
baicleach - a noisy crowd, such as a lot of 
children.

buidhe mór - a tall green plant, formerly used
for dyeing of a saffron colour.
O'R. has it = wild wood.

bleachtóg
bleachtán - a variety of the dandelion that gives
out white juice on being cut or
broken.

bomp - a mistake.

batar - a great deal.  "There's a batter of
stars up to-night."

bás - a "dying" thing, such as a bird or
beast that is sickly and appearing 
to die.  "Oh he's a poor bás."

bárán - a riddle-shaped instrument with
hide bottom, used for winnowing 
corn. 

beirceadán - an icicle.

Clasaigh - a trench behind the cattle in a 
byre for receiving the voidings. 
O'R. has clas = a pit, a furrow.

criotóg - a fragment of turf that has broken
off.  O'R. has crod = a piece, a 
patch; the diminutive of this
would be crodóg.

coróg - a bundle of anything tied together.
O'R.  has coróg = a faggot, a 
bavin.

crastaidhe - a big, corpulent fellow.  O'R. has
cras = a body, and crasgach = 
corpulent.

cró - a sty or pighouse.

collóg - to conspire, to plot, to filch away.

corp - a dead body; often used instead 
of corpse.

cathóg - a little cross-piece on the end of a
spade handle, or the handle of 
any other implement.

cutar - a slate pencil.

cob - (verb and noun) a slap on the hand.
"Did the master give you a cob
to-day?"

codaidhe - a small, diminutive fellow.

cutaigh - a short, worn-out article, such as
a pipe, pencil, spade, &c.

cárr - a grimace, a contortion of the 
mouth.

cuiseóg - a reed or stalk of grass.

crodamhail or 
cradamhail - a bad, mischievous person.

corc or curc - a little bunch of feathers on the 
crown of a bird's head.

curcaidhe - having a "curc".  

cliabhaire - one who deals in poultry.

cláirseach - a lazy woman, who is always 
sitting.

clábar - dirt, muddled earth, mire.

copóg - a dock leaf.

cruibhin - a finger: no doubt from crobh = a
hand, a paw (O'R.).  But this 
word is seldom heard, except in
the plural "crivvins." [For
cruibhín.]

collap
cleip - both mean a slice or longitudinal
piece of anything.

cránaidhe - an insect or small animal of more
than usual size.  "The cat 
caught a great big cránaidhe of 
a mouse."

casnáire or 
cosnáire - repect; anything done out of re-
spect.  "He put on his new
coat for cosnáire."
Contrary to the usual Northern
system of pronunciation the
accent in this word is on the 
second syllable.

crág - a big, fat hand; also a handful.

cóir - kindly, innocent, good-natured.

clám - to tear or handle roughly.

crothaileán - a poor, helpless person, wanting
in energy and courage.

corrach - rough, rugged, not stable.

craig - a hard, sharp blow.

ceannóg - (used with the English plural -s)
= the gleanings or stray heads
of corn when the harvest is cut
down.  Rarely used now.

cailleach - an old woman.  It is also applied
to the corn last cut in the 
harvest.  "We cut the cailleach
to-day" = "we finished cutting
the harvest."

cíb - the pip, a disease in chickens.

cideóg - part of a baby's garments.

ciaróg - a beetle, any black insect.  From
ciar, dark brown.

céilidh - a friendly visit to a neighbour's
house. 

ciste - a purse of hoarded wealth.

ceis - a small wooden bridge.

cabar - remains or traces of dirt.  "There's
a cabar of stirabout round the
child's mouth" (after eating).

cincíseach - a person or beast born on Whit-
Monday.  It is believed they
are unlucky (for others); are
fated to kill someone.

cifleóg - a careless, slovenly person; an
unhandy woman.

cuigeál - a name for a lazy, useless dog.
Cuigeál is also some part of a 
spinning-wheel.

croitheall - a poor, sickly-looking thing.  Rare.

cuirleán or 
curlán - the pignut; a wild edible root.
See "The Tempest".  

cisín - a round little vessel; from cisín
= a hive.

cánán - anything that gets between the
teeth.

cat caoch - hypocrisy.

copánach - a little pig taken from the sow and
reared on cow's milk, which he
drinks from a cup.

"cailleach is gios-
taire" - a game at wakes.

Dallóg - any kind of covering to blindfold 
the eyes; a veil often put on 
troublesome cows.

donaidhe - dona, sick, weak, ailing.

dul - a loop or eye on a cord.

deallán 
deallóg - a spark; the lighted end of a straw
or fine stick.

deóraidhe - a miserable-looking person or 
animal, probably from deórach
tearful.

diúbas - (verb) to suspect.
(noun) a suspicion.  [Q. Eng.
Dubious?]

<L 27>
diucaigh and 
diuc - a name by which hens are called,
and to which they answer.

dlaoidheóg - a few "grains" or ears of hog
straw, &c., or of hair.  From
dlaoi = a tress.

Fútar - to work uselessly; to be engaged
at some silly or idle occupation.

fáisleóg - a small, low-lying, marshy plot in 
a bog.

flabaid - a person with a fat, round, soft-
looking face.

fum - a kind of light red spongy, turf.

fosaigh - soft and spongy.

futain - three or four turf built in a certain
way for drying. 

fúsaigh - a dish or cake hurriedly prepared,
or prepared for some particular
purpose.  "My mother was out,
and I made a fúsaigh."

fasach - to feed cows in some place where
they have to be herded.  "I was
fossaing the cows all morning."

fít - a name by which ducks are called
together.

faerín-tickles - freckles.

faerín-tickled - freckled.

fad-shaoghalach - long and tedious.  "He's a fad-
shaoghalach creature."

fánas - a little space between two of the 
front teeth in some persons.

fearabán - the buttercup.  According to O'R.
fearabán = crowfoot.

Feitigeán - "empty rods," hollow canes that
grow along the edges of lakes,
formerly used by weavers for 
making quills or bobbins.

Gormán searcaigh - the hedge-sparrow.

guisear - a old stocking. In O'R.

gruig - a sour-looking, assumed face.
"When I went in she put a 
gruig on her."  O'R. has it
= churlishness, a drooping look.

goirrige - a dolt, a clownish person.  Rarely
used.  In O'R. 

gochadh - shape, look, appearance.  O'R. has
gochadh = quality.

gob - a mouth.

grúp - clasaigh, a receptacle in a byre for
the voidings.

glár - dirt, mire.

glug - the peculiar sound of a bottle not
quite filled with a liquid when
shaken.

geinceánach - the "leprechaun," the little fairy
cobbler.

gríseach - hot ashes.

gabhlóg - a stick naturally forked; a forked
branch.

gamhdaidhe - a slow, dull, stupid person.  

gatán - a great hurry.

gulaidhe - cutaidhe, a worn knife, shovel, &c.

gunc - a disappointment.

go leór - plenty, abundance.

gasun
gasur - a little boy in his teens.

girrseach - a little girl in her teens.

gobha - a blacksmith.  Used only with 
the person's name; "The Gobh'
Woods," "The Gobh' Duffy."

gráinneóg or 
grannóg - the hedge-hog.

grabach - with the teeth gapped owing to
having lost some.

gairill - (used with English plural -s) = the
exudation from the eyes when
a person catches cold in the eyes.

gradam - something that can be grasped at
or got for nothing; a gift.

gám - the butt for a joke.  "They made
a gám of him."

geant - to sigh from weariness.

gótán - a dolt.

gámaidhe - a tall, overgrown person.

gug - an egg.

glathn - a retching, a vomiting.  Rare.

'g iomardas - keeping up a competition with
a person, especially in talk.
"Don't be 'g iomardas with 
him" = don't be always wrang-
ling with him.

girrneán - complaining and murmuring.

graibhe na gcloch - a big bunch of herb growing from a 
small root in a wall.  O'R. has 
grafa na ccloch = stone-crop
wall pepper.

grán tonnóg - an aquatic plant with small leaves
that cover the surface of the 
water.  O'R.  has grán lachan = 
lesser duckmeat, Lemma minor.

lábán - a rotten egg; an egg that proves
sterile in hatching.

lab or lob - a great sum of money.

lug - an ignorant fellow.

ladhaireóg - a forked stick.

leithideóg - a broad piece of anything.

leanbh - a child.  Used only in the voca-
tive case.

liobar - a loose lip.  In O'R.  "The child
got vexed and he put a liobar
on him."

lúb - a loop.

lasóg - a flame, a blaze of light.

leid - the swath cut by a mower; corn
cut with the hook and spread
out thinly on the ground.

lus na franc - a strong-smelling  plant with 
yellow flowers.  O'R.  has lus na
bhfranc = common tansy.

luasgach or luas-
gán - a strait or difficulty.  O'R. has luas-
gán = a cradle, a swing-swong.  

Maol - a polled or hornless cow.

margadh mór - the big market that immediately 
precedes Christmas.

midilin - the piece of cord or thong that
binds the two parts of a flail 
together.

mucair - the red berry of the sweet briar.

maerin (?) - a narrow piece of ground in a bog
between two bog-holes.

máire rúgal or 
mala rúgal - burdock; O'R. has it.

macaomh - a youth.  Chiefly used in voca-
tive.  "I'm looking at you, my 
young macaomh."

<L 28>
Nuaidheacht - novelty curiosity.  "You took
your nuaidheacht out of it".
[= Bhain tú do nuaidheacht as] = 
you have ceased to be curious or
interested about it.

Odhrán - cream-coloured.  O'R. has odhar = 
pale, wan, dun.

Palltóg - a thump, a blow.

price - a fine piece of stick.

pannacar - a small porringer.

poltóg-s - heavy, tattered, old clothes.

pislin - (used with English plural -s) = 
water escaping from the mouth, 
as with an infant.

pistreóg-s - superstitious observances.

poírin - a small seed potato; and hence
also a small egg, apple, &c.

prácás - a curiously mixed food, a medley.
In O'R. 

plubán - a small hole - such as the track of
a beast's hoof - filled with water. 

preab - a "spading" in digging ground.

prog - working industriously, especially
towards getting your daily bread.
Ducks and hens looking for worms
and insects are "progging".

púrtár - near like "prog" to search out
your wants assiduously.

próthóg - a small, poor, wretched hut or
habitation.

pianfáis - extreme misery and affliction.  The
word is pian bháis, I think.

pritil - the iron punch with which the 
blacksmith makes the holes in 
the shoes.

pucán - a proud, haughty, well-fed fellow.
From pucán, a pouch, made of
kid hide.

praiseach - a wild week of the cabbage tribe
that grows among corn.  O'R.  
gives ten different species of it.

Reachaire - a small pony; originally from 
Rathlin Island.

rantára - a great noise.

ráimeis - a senseless rhyme, doggerel.

réacoll - a poor, wretched bird or animal.

rucaidhe - a person with hair naturally
curled; a hen with curled
feathers.

rámhdaidhe = réacoll.

ruag - a piece of cord platted with the 
hand.

ribeog - a hair.

romhail - easy-going, peaceful, quiet.

rúraigh - a rough, readymade cake or ban-
nock.

raibhleach - a long, lazy, gadding fellow.

raingligheacht - sneaking, idling, gadding.

ró - good working order.  "Have you
the ró on the pipe?"

rorc - one of the crossbars of a wooden
gate.

raithneach - the fern.

ribe - long, fine, hairy grass that grows
up in furze.  Bonn ribe = a 
disease cured by the ribe.

Sealastar - the common flaggers, with yellow
flowers, that grow along rivers. 

sgiaicheóg - the whitethorn.

sgiob - to throw a coin, &c., among a
crowd, who all strive to get it.
"I sgiobbed a penny to the
scholars."

seóth - a deep, open drain along a fence;
an open ditch.

sócamhlach - comfortable, easy, quiet.

slug - a drink from a bottle.

sopóg - a handful of straw or hay tied at
one end.

scrios - a lavish, wasteful person.

searal - an offensive term with no definite
meaning.  O'R. has siorthoir = 
a slut.

spadach - a heavy, large wet sod or turf.

sidheógaidhe - a child who cries much, alluding
to the belief that fairies  stole
children and left counterfeits in
their stead.

stroig - strippings or milk last drawn.  "To
stroig the cow," is to milk her
quite dry.

sgirreadh - a short, wee, turn at a work.

scafa - the leaves or tops cut off turnips
when they are pulled.  The fine
skin that rises off the fingers in 
little flakes at the root of the 
nails is called scafa ionga.

snig - to pull turnips, trim off the roots,
and cut off the turnip from the 
head.  "I was snigging turnips
all day."  However I think it is 
the peculiar short, sharp stroke
or cut by which the head is
separated from the turnip that
is meant by "snigging".

slámán - a handful. There is a distinction
between slámán and crág.  The
crág is applied to something
contained wholly in the hand:
"a crág of salt;" while the
slámán denotes something only 
partly contained in the hand, as
"a slámán of straw".

sámhas - ease, comfort.  O'R. has it. 

seanchus - tales, stories, talk about old times.

scraith - and old, tough lea sod; an old sod
in a bog.

scud - to beat with a rod.

scailigh-eye - a squint eye.

splinc - the sharp peak or summit of a 
rock.

sprugoille - the craw or stomach of a bird.

scrunt - a poor, light, hilly spot in a field.

slán gach samhail - God bless the mark.

scráidin - a small potato.

scrí(?) or scoirí (?) a great crowd or multitude of
small things: "a scree of 
chickens."

stuc - a fit of peevishness, anger.

stucach - vexed, angry.

spug - a needle case.

spug - a small explosion, as of a few
grains of blasting powder.

<L 29>
spug - in gambling, to "break" or win
all off the person you are playing 
with.  "Are you spugged?"
"Have you lost it all?"

staig - an informer, one who turns king's
evidence.

staig - a hard-hearted, callous person,
perhaps because persons who
turned informer on their com-
rades were such.

scioft - a short time or turn at any
work.  "He gave me a scioft
ploughing."

siorádaidhe - a slow, sneaking fellow.

smur - a fine, close shower of rain. 

scráb - to tear the skin with the finger-
nails.  

spág - a foot, particularly a broad, flat one.

stéim - a ray of light; used only in the 
expression, "He cannot see a 
stime" = he is stone blind."
[English, stim in Dublin].

smuis - rubbish, refuse material.

stailc - a kind of pudding made of oatmeal
and potatoes.

sléaghán-spade - a spade for cutting turf.

sleaghán - turf cut with such a spade.

sléaghán-barrow - a peculiar sort of barrrow for carry-
ing such turf.

scrioblach - the refuse of anything. "I have
sorted the potatoes; those are 
the good ones, and these are the 
scrioblach."

staic - an assumed bend or set in the 
neck.  "See how she goes and a 
staic in her neck."

súileóg - a fatty sack floating on the top of
a liquid, such as soup, &c.

smalcóire - a little, roughly-made wooden
spoon used by children on
Easter Sunday for eating eggs
at the afternoon "Easter House".

snag - the convulsive "draw" or sniffle
in a child after hard crying.

smuilcis, or 
smulcais - rubbish, taprais.

smigín - the little lobes of flesh underneath
a goat's chin.

slúid - to loll about indolently.  One who
does so is called a slúid.

srán - a brutish rush at a thing, such as
a "cross" dog at a person.

sprudhóg-s - little fragments of turf, wood, &c.

sugaidh - a name for calling a cow towards 
you.

sucsaidh - a name for calling a calf towards
you.

snais - abuse, Billingsgate low talk.

sliodar - to slip, to slide.

splúcán - a vesicle or watery blister. 

súgán - a straw collar for beasts of draught.
In O'R. 

stalcaire - a bully; a lusty, robust, rough
fellow.

sgreab - crust on a pot, pan, &c.  In O'R. 

Tacair - gleaning, or gathering things up
very carefully.

tálaid - a rough, deep shelf on each side of
the flue or chimney in an old 
Irish cabin.

tóirt - anything of small size. "Sure
that fellow in only a little tóirt."

tóirtín - a small bannock of bread.

támhán - a slow, dull, useless person.  O'R.
has tamhan = a sot.

taosg - dough; an ill-baked cake.  Rare.
O'R. has taos = dough.

traincoat - a furrow, a watercourse.

tútá - a mixture of the feelings of shame
and disappointment.  "When 
he came no one welcomed him, 
and he went off tútá."

tubaiste - a melée, great noise and con-
fusion owing to some accident or 
mishap.

trá - a cunning or deceitful trick or
device.

taprais - rubbish.

tiollar-s - the fleshy lobs beneath the bills of
hens, &c.; and also the fleshy 
"double chin" which some 
persons have.

torp and torpán - a small clod of turf.  O'R. has
tarp = a clod, and tarpan = 
a cluster.

Ultach or ultóg - the full of a person's arms of a 
thing.

uirneál - a delay in going to bed, remaining 
up beyond the proper time.
"Well, but you're fond of making
the uirneál" = you're fond of
stopping up late.  Rarely used.

ullóg - a bundle of anything.

Sliabh Fuaid.

[Some of the italicised words are probably provincial
English - Ed.]
Historical Irish Corpus
1600 - 1926

Feis Laighean agus Midhe. Comórtas 3.

Search Texts

Historical Irish Corpus1600 - 1926

Feis Laighean agus Midhe. Comórtas 3.

Search Texts

Historical Irish Corpus
1600 - 1926
