Focail Mhuirneacha
Endearments
You are probably all familiar with the salutation, “a chara”, as in:
- A Shéamais, a chara, = Dear James,
- A Bhríd, a chara, = Dear Bridget,
- Wolfgang, a chara, = Dear Wolfgang,
Literally, “a chara” means “o friend”. It's the vocative form of “cara”.
Here's a list of the vocative forms of some words of affection. They all mean more or less “darling”.
- A rún! (uh ROON) lit., O love!
- A ghrá! (uh GHRAW) lit., O love!
- A chumann! (uh KHU-muhn) lit., O affection!
- A mhuirnín! (uh WOOR-neen) lit., O sweetheart!
- A chroí! (uh KHREE) lit., O heart!
- A chuisle! (uh KHWISH-luh) lit., O pulse!
- A stór! (uh STOHR) lit., O treasure!
- A thaisce! (uh HASH-kyuh) lit., O treasure!
- A chiste! (uh HISH-chuh) lit., O treasure chest!
These terms of endearment can be used as is, or in various combinations or extended forms, such as:
- A rún mo chroí! (O love of my heart!)
- A chuisle mo chroí! (O pulse of my heart!)
- A chiste is a stór! (O treasure chest and treasure!)
- A mhuirnín dílis! (O true sweetheart!)
Finally, a sociolinguistic observation: men may refer to one another as “"a stór”", “"a rún”" and “"a chroí”" without necessarily implying anything
other than mild affection or friendly regard, along the lines of “my dear man”. Context counts for a lot.