Although Irish is an entirely separate language from English, many Irish words have made their way into English, whether in general vocabulary, personal names, or placenames. Most of the following words fall into one of those categories, so hopefully they won’t seem too unfamiliar! So, see if you know a cúpla focail (couple of words) and let us know about your experience below 🙂
If you like this quiz, be sure to check out my 99 Amazing Quizzes on a Wide Variety of Topics! – “Guaranteed to make you smarter!”
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Question of
The Irish phrase go leor means…
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A lot
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A very small amount
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It belongs to the widow up the road, but she doesn’t mind me using it now and then
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Question of
Cailín has been borrowed into English as a girl’s name, Colleen. But what does the Irish word mean?
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Beautiful
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Girl
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A Spanish princess that was rescued when the Spanish Armada sank off the Kerry coast in the 16th century. Or more generally, any Spanish princess.
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Question of
Clann means…
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A rare and expensive kind of tobacco that grows wild in the Blackstairs mountains in Kilkenny
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A clan chief who smokes the above-mentioned tobacco incessantly
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Family
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Question of
What’s a gob?
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The beak of a bird
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The point at which a pointed object, which has been so finely crafted by a craftsman of great skill, that its ultimate point is too narrow to be perceived by the naked eye, becomes imperceptible.
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Any man who can claim ancestry from such a craftsman
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Question of
Uisce is an Irish word that has made itself very much at home in English. It may help to know that the letter C is always pronounced as a K in Irish.
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A whisk for whipping cream, etc.
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A general term for the kind of talk you hear in and around a railway station
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Water
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Question of
What’s a bróg?
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A shoe
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A box for capturing loud noises, for subsequent transmogrification into light. Often seen in railway stations in the west of Ireland.
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A transparent raincoat, popular among middle-ages women among Dublin’s prosperous and leafy suburbs southern suburbs
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Question of
Samhain (pronounced sa-win) means…
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A collective term for animals with curly tails, such as husky dogs, pigs, curly-tailed lizards etc.
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The month of November
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A left-handed poet
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Question of
In the mouth of an Irishman, what’s a Sasannach?
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An assassin
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An English (or Saxon) man
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The tail-end of a Caribbean hurricane, usually somewhat diminished by the time it has crossed the Atlantic
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Question of
Cill (pronounced ‘kill’) has been borrowed into many placenames. But what does it mean?
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Murder
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Abattoir
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Church
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Question of
Craic means…
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Red-light district
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The sixteen-week period following Christmas, during which eating and drinking (especially drinking) to excess is socially encouraged.
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Fun
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Question of
Póitín means…
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A small patch of land, hidden away from normal access, and used for the cultivation of certain plants not strictly acceptable to the law
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The way the smoke from a peat fire smells to you, when you return to Ireland after a long exile
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Illicitly produced whisky
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Question of
Seamróg is…
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A heavy jumper worn by fishermen
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Clover
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Green beer served on St. Patrick’s Day (only in America!)
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Question of
Bealtaine means what in modern Irish?
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The month of May
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A special dance around the Maypole
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A secret language used by blacksmiths to take advantage of ordinary folk
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Question of
Abhainn is another Irish word that has been freely incorporated into English placenames and geographic features. What is its meaning?
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Mountain
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Valley
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Headland
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Estuary
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River
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Question of
Lastly, what’s a síbín? You’ll know for sure if you’re South African!
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An unlicensed pub
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A special type of pantomime performed exclusively by one-legged men at Halloween
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Nothing at all!
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Nice post!!!! Good job
only got 4 correct on this one….another great quiz though!
Thanks for taking the quiz, Mom! Hey you did better here than in the Latin/Spanish/French quiz! ?
nice i got 2 but nice ……………..
You got 8 out of 15 right!
Not so bad I have no idea how I got this many right. Wild guesses each and every one of them.
I’m happy with my score, a 6. Thanks for letting me know a bit of Irish language
Fun stuff! : ) If I were going to pick a language to use for making some sort of code to communicate with Irish would be my choice.
You got 7 out of 15 right!
Not so bad
Total blindness before, but tomorrow we can certainly chat casually in Irish!
Got 8 correct, a challenging quiz for sure.
got 12 out of 15 right!
5/15 and all 5 were purely lucky guesses!
I got better results than Kim! 🙂
13/15 – the first two wrong then I got into my stride!
I got 8 out of 15 and frankly was happy I got that many. Out of 15 I guessed on 14 of the questions!
I am commenting before I play. I was watching a movie that was shot in Ireland and the guys were speaking English, I still needed a translator. hehehe. I am sure I will do poorly but will try…
Okay, I got three correct and didn’t know any. I kind of knew before hand I do not know any Irish terms.. …