Focal an Lae #234
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: carraig (KAH-rihg) [karəg′]
Meaning: carraig = rock, boulder
Usage:
- carraig de dhuine (... duh GHIH-nuh) [... də ghin′ə] = a rock of a man
- Chaidh an bád ar na carraigeacha. (KHYE uhn BAWD ehr nuh KAH-rig-yuh-khuh) [xaiː ən baːd er′ nə karəg′əxə] = The boat went onto the rocks.
- Carraig is a common element in placenames, usually written “carrick” in anglicized versions such as Carrickfergus.
History: Middle Irish “carrac” was borrowed from a Brittonic form similar to Old Welsh “carrecc”,
which comes from Indo-European *karrikā, from the root *kar- (hard). Modern Welsh is “carreg” (rock, stone).
An English cognates is “hard” and the word “crag” was borrowed from either Welsh “craig” (rock, crag) or Scottish Gaelic “creag”,
words closely related to “carraig”.
Scottish Gaelic: carraig