Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 14:42:20 -0000
From: Colin Mark <[email protected]>
Subject: Tip of the Week 47
Tip of the Week 47
In Section 5 of 'Clann Lir' I wrote:
e) bha eud oirre - like 'gràdh', 'eud' 'jealousy' / 'envy' are 'on'
a
person. 'Air' may mean 'on him' as well as being the simple preposition 'on'
. The feminine equivalent of this is 'oirre' on her'.
An off-list query about 'eud', above, and another word meaning 'envy' /
'jealousy' i.e. 'farmad', led me to think a little more about these
words.
Just as the English words 'jealous' and 'zealous' come from the same root,
the word 'eud' in Gaelic may mean 'jealousy' or 'zeal', and , nowadays, it
is more likely to have the latter meaning.
e.g.
oir thog gach eaglais sgoiltean agus nochd gach buidheann eud ann an
oileanachadh òigridh gach coimhthionail.
for each church built schools and each body showed zeal in educating the
youth of each congregation. Gairm 182
Now, there is a proverb:
Triùir a thig gun iarraidh - gaol, eud is eagal.
Three that come unbidden - love, jealousy and fear.
I suspect that 'triùir' (which is usually used only in reference to
people)
is being used here as these qualities are being personified.
However, an alternative form of this proverb is:
Triùir a thig gun iarraidh - gaol, eudach is
eagal.
Now, 'eudach' is a noun which is rarely used other than in a very
specialised way.
i.e.
'S dòcha gun robh X ag eudach ris.
Perhaps X was jealous of him.
... agus bha na caileagan eile ag eudach rithe.
... and the other girls were jealous of her.
On the other hand, 'farmad' always means 'envy' or 'jealousy'.
The basic construction is:
Tha farmad aig X ri Y.
X is jealous / envious of Y.
But notice also:
'S e farmad a bha a' cur air.
It was envy which was bothering him. (lit. it was jealousy which was putting
on him)
and:
Ghabh iad farmad ris.
They became jealous of him. (lit. they took jealousy towards
him)
Cailean
Am Marcair Dubh
Is i a' Ghàidhlig Cànan mo Dhùthcha.
URL: http://www.gaeldesign.com/colinmark
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