Focal an Lae #281
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: mála (MAW-luh) [maːlə]
Meaning: mála = bag, sack
Usage:
- mála codlata (... KO-luh-tuh) [... kolətə] = sleeping bag (lit., bag of-sleeping)
- Cad tá agat sa mhála droma? (KAHD TAW AH-guht suh WAH-luh DRO-muh) [kad taː agət sə vaːlə dromə]
= What do you have in the rucksack? (lit., in the bag of-back)
- chomh teann le mála an phíobaire = as tight as the piper’s bag, i.e., stuffed with food
History: Classical Irish “mála” comes, via Anglo-Norman, form Old French “male” (bag),
which goes back to Germanic *malhō-, from Indo-European *molko- (skin bag).
A good English cognates that derives from the same Old French word is “mail”.
Scottish Gaelic: màla