Focal an Lae #136
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: maol (MWEE-uhl) [miːl]
Meaning: maol = bald; hornless; blunt; bare
Usage:
- Tá sé ag éirí maol. (TAW shay uhg AY-ree MWEE-uhl) [taː s′eː əg eːr′iː miːl] = He’s getting bald.
- scian mhaol (SHKEE-uhn WEE-uhl) [s′k′iːən viːl] = a blunt knife
- Is maol gualainn gan bhráthair. (ISS MWEE-uhl GOO-uh-lihn guhn VRAW-hihr) [is miːl guələn′ gən vraːhər′]
= It’s hard to stand alone against the world. (lit., tis bare a shoulder without a brother)
History: Old Irish “máel” and Welsh “moel” come from Indo-European *mai-lo- (cut off), from the root *mai- (to cut).
In Early Irish, “máel”, with the literal meaning “shorn one, cropped-haired one” and the extended meaning “slave, servant, religious devotee”,
was a common element in personal names: Máel Muire (Devotee, Servant of Mary), Máel Coluim (Devotee of Columba),
Máel Dúin (Servant of the Fortress), etc. The earliest examples of this usage are names such as MAILAGNI and MAILAGURO
found on late Ogam inscriptions.
English uses the word “muley”, which means “hornless” and was borrowed from either Irish or Welsh.
Scottish Gaelic: maol