Focal an Lae #38
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: bodhar (BOWR - rhymes with “hour”)
Meaning: bodhar = deaf; numb
Usage:
- chomh bodhar le cloch (xoh BOWR leh clox) = as deaf as a stone
- Tá mo chos bodhar. (TAW muh XOS BOWR) = My foot is numb.
- bodhrán (BOW-rawn) = deaf person; a hand drum
- bodhránaí (BOW-raw-nee) = bodhrán player
History: Old Irish “bodar” comes from reconstructed Common Celtic *budaro-. Compare Welsh “byddar” and Breton “bouzar”.
Pokorny traces this back to the Indo-European root *bhau- (to strike).
There is some evidence that English “bother” is borrowed from the Welsh or Irish.
English cognates that reach back to the IE root include “beat” and “buttress”.
Scottish Gaelic: bodhar