laethanta na riabhaí

Irish
FWOTD – 29 March 2022

Alternative forms
  • laetha na riabhaí
  • laetha na riabhaiche, laethanta na riabhaiche (Ulster)
  • laetha na riabhaighe, laethanta na riabhaighe (classical, dialectal, superseded)

Etymology

Literally “days of the brindled cow”, from a legend according to which an old brindled cow either boasted that she could withstand the rough weather of March or complained about the bitterness of March weather; in both versions, March then borrowed three (in some versions, nine) days from April and made them especially cold and windy in order to teach the old cow a lesson, in consequence of which she died.[1]

Pronunciation
  • (Munster) IPA(key): /ˈl̪ˠeːhən̪ˠt̪ˠə n̪ˠə ɾˠiəˈvˠiː/
  • (Connacht) IPA(key): /ˈl̪ˠeːhən̪ˠt̪ˠə n̪ˠə ˈɾˠiəwiː/
  • (Ulster) IPA(key): /ˈl̪ˠɛhə n̪ˠə ˈɾˠeːwi/, (older) /ˈl̪ˠɛhə n̪ˠə ˈɾˠɤːwi/[2] (corresponding to the form laetha na riabhaí)

Noun

laethanta na riabhaí m pl (genitive plural laethanta na riabhaí)

  1. borrowing days (last three days of March)

References
  1. Bridget Haggerty (accessed 2022-02-25), “The Borrowed Days”, in Irish Culture and Customs‎
  2. Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 31

Further reading
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