Focal an Lae #151
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: samhradh (SOW-ruh) [saurə]
Meaning: samhradh = summer
Usage:
- Inniu an chéad lá de shamhradh. (ihn-YOO uh HYAYD LAW duh HOW-ruh) [ən′u ə x′eːd laː də haurə] = Today is the first day of summer.
- “Samhradh, samhradh, bainne na ngamhna, Thugamar féin an samhradh linn.”
“Summer, summer, the milk of the calves, We ourselves brought the summer with us.”
(lines from a well known song; “samhradh” in the second line refers to a garland of flowers;
according to the old reckoning, summer began on May 1st)
History: Old Irish used both “sam” and “samrad” to mean “summer”.
“Sam”, Welsh “haf”, Breton “hañv” and Gaulish “samon(ios)” all come from Common Celtic *samo-, which goes back to Indo-European *sem- (summer).
English “summer” is a clear cognate.
The second element, “-radh”, is probably related to “ráithe” (season) and may be traced back to the Indo-European root *ret- (to run, roll).
Scottish Gaelic: samhradh