Focal an Lae #264
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: cosúil (KO-soo-ihl) [kosuːl′]
Meaning: cosúil = like, similar
Usage:
- Tá sé cosúil leat. (TAW shay KO-soo-ihl lat) [taː s′eː kosuːl′ l′æt] = He’s like you. (lit., is he similar with-you)
- Is cosúil go mbeidh sé fuar amárach. (ISS KO-soo-ihl guh MAY-ee shay FOO-uhr uh-MAH-ruhkh) [is kosuːl′ gə m′ei s′eː fuːər əmarəx]
= It appears that it will be cold tomorrow. (lit., tis like that will-be it cold tomorrow)
History: Old Irish “cosmail” comes from Common Celtic *kon-samali, which derives from the Indo-European
elements *kom (near, by, with) and *smm-alo-, the suffixed zero grade of the root *sem- (as one).
The second element is also seen in Welsh “hafal” (like, equal) and Latin “similis” (like), which gives us English “similar” and “resemble”.
Related words in Irish are “samhail” (likeness, resemblance) and “amhail” (like, as).
Scottish Gaelic: cosmhail