English As We Speak It in Ireland Part 45

Mountain dew; a fanciful and sort of pet name for pottheen whiskey: usually made in the _mountains_.

Mounthagh, mounthaun; a toothless person. (Munster.) From the Irish _mant_ [mounth], the gum, with the terminations. Both words are equivalent to _gummy_, a person whose mouth is _all gums_.

Moutre. In very old times a mill-owner commonly received as payment for grinding corn one-tenth of the corn ground--in accordance with the Brehon Law. This custom continued to recent times--and probably continues still--in Ulster, {297} where the quant.i.ty given to the miller is called _moutre_, or _muter_, or _mooter_.

Mulharten; a flesh-worm: a form of meelcartan. See Meelcar.

Mullaberta; arbitration. (Munster.) Merely the Irish _moladh-beirte_, same sound and meaning: in which _moladh_ [mulla] is 'apprais.e.m.e.nt'; and _beirt[)e]_, gen. of _beart_, 'two persons':--lit. 'apprais.e.m.e.nt of two.' The word mullaberta has however in recent times drifted to mean a loose unbusinesslike settlement. (Healy.)

Mummers, 171.

Murray, Mr. Patrick, schoolmaster of Kilfinane, 153, 154, and under 'Roasters,' below.

Murrogh O'Brien, Earl of Inchiquin, 165.

Musicianer for musician is much in use all over Ireland. Of English origin, and used by several old English writers, among others by Collier.

Nab; a knowing old-fas.h.i.+oned little fellow. (Derry.)

Naboc'lesh; never mind. (North and South.) Irish _na-bac-leis_ (same sound), 'do not stop to mind it,' or 'pa.s.s it over.'

Nail, paying on the nail, 183.

Naygur; a form of _n.i.g.g.ard_: a wretched miser:--

'I certainly thought my poor heart it would bleed To be trudging behind that old naygur.'

(Old Munster song; 'The Spalpeen's Complaint': from 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs.')

'In all my ranging and serenading, I met no naygur but humpy Hyde.'

(See 'Castlehyde' in my 'Old Irish Music and Songs.')

{298}

Nicely: often used in Ireland as shown here:-- 'Well, how is your [sick] mother to-day?' 'Oh she's nicely,' or 'doing nicely, thank you'; i.e. getting on very well--satisfactorily. A still stronger word is _bravely_. 'She's doing bravely this morning'; i.e. extremely well--better than was expected.

Nim or nym; a small bit of anything. (Ulster.)

Noggin; a small vessel, now understood to hold two gla.s.ses; also called naggin. Irish _noigin_.

Nose; to pay through the nose; to pay and be made to pay, against your grain, the full sum without delay or mitigation.

Oans.h.a.gh; a female fool, corresponding with omadaun, a male fool. Irish _oinseach_, same sound and meaning: from _on_, a fool, and _seach_, the feminine termination.

Offer; an attempt:--'I made an offer to leap the fence but failed.'

Old English, influence of, on our dialect, 6.

Oliver's summons, 184.

On or upon; in addition to its functions as explained at pp. 27, 28, it is used to express obligation:-- 'Now I put it _upon_ you to give Bill that message for me': one person meeting another on Christmas Day says:--'My Christmas box _on_ you,' i.e. 'I put it as an obligation on you to give me a Christmas box.'

Once; often used in this manner:--'Once he promises he'll do it'

(Hayden and Hartog): 'Once you pay the money you are free,' i.e. _if_ or _when_ you pay.

O'Neills and their war-cry, 179. {299}

Os.h.i.+n [sounded nearly the same as the English word ocean]; a weakly creature who cannot do his fair share of work. (Innishowen, Donegal.)

Out; used, in speaking of time, in the sense of _down_ or _subsequently_:--'His wife led him a mighty uneasy life from the day they married _out_.' (Gerald Griffin: Munster.) 'You'll pay rent for your house for the first seven years, and you will have it free from that _out_.'

Out; to call a person _out of his name_ is to call him by a wrong name.

Out; 'be off out of that' means simply _go away_.

Out; 'I am out with him' means I am not on terms with him--I have fallen out with him.

Overright; opposite, in front of: the same meaning as _forenenst_; but _forenenst_ is English, while overright is a wrong translation from an Irish word--_os-comhair_. _Os_ means over, and _comhair_ opposite: but this last word was taken by speakers to be _coir_ (for both are sounded alike), and as _coir_ means _right_ or just, so they translated _os-comhair_ as if it were _os-coir_, 'over-right.' (Russell: Munster.)

Paddhereen; a prayer: dim. of Latin _Pater_ (_Pater Noster_).

_Paddereen Paurtagh_, the Rosary: from Irish _pairteach_, sharing or partaking: because usually several join in it.

Paideoge [paudh-yoge]; a torch made of a wick dipped in melted rosin (Munster): what they call a _s.l.u.t_ in Ulster.

Paghil or pahil; a lump or bundle, 108. (Ulster.)

Palatines, 65.

Palleen; a rag: a torn coat is 'all in _paleens_.' (Derry.) {300}

Palm; the yew-tree, 184.

Pampooty; a shoe made of untanned hide. (West.)

Pandy; potatoes mashed up with milk and b.u.t.ter. (Munster.)

Pannikin; now applied to a small tin drinking-vessel: an old English word that has fallen out of use in England, but is still current in Ireland: applied down to last century to a small earthenware pot used for boiling food. These little vessels were made at Youghal and Ardmore (Co. Waterford). The earthenware pannikins have disappeared, their place being supplied by tinware. (Kinahan.)

Parisheen; a foundling; one brought up in childhood by the _parish_.

(Kildare.)