Focal an Lae #280
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: grianstad (GREE-uhn-stahd) [g′r′iːənstad]
Meaning: grianstad = solstice
Usage:
- Bíonn dhá ghrianstad sa bhliain. (BEE-un GHAW GHREE-uhn-stahd suh VLEE-ihn) [b′iːən ghaː gh′r′iːənstad sə v′l′iːən′]
= There are always two solstices in the year.
- grianstad an gheimhridh (... uh YEEV-ree) [... ə jiːv′r′iː] = the winter solstice
- grianstad an tsamhraidh (... uhn TOW-ree) [... ən tauriː] = the summer solstice
History: “Grianstad” is a calque on the Latin word “solstitium”.
A calque, or loan translation, takes the semantic elements of a foreign word and translates them literally into the target language.
The Latin word consists of the elements “sol” (sun) and “stitium” (stoppage), and the Irish calque consists of “grian” (sun) and “stad” (stop).
See
Focal #279 for the etymology of “grian”.
Scottish Gaelic: grian-stad