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19 Mar 08 - 01:09 PM (#2292729) Subject: Was the Buachaill On Eirne a cowherd or a cowboy From: mayomick The composer of Buachaill On Eirne describes himself as a "Buachailleacht bó " . I've seen that translated as a "cowherd",but wouldn't cowboy be more accurate ? Did the American word "cowboy" derive from the Irish term? |
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19 Mar 08 - 01:32 PM (#2292760) Subject: RE: Buachaill On Eirne - cowboy From: Big Al Whittle perhaps Buckaroo did.... |
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19 Mar 08 - 02:57 PM (#2292854) Subject: RE: Buachaill On Eirne - cowboy From: Gulliver "buaichailleacht bó" is a verb, which literally means "Cowboying". |
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19 Mar 08 - 04:32 PM (#2292957) Subject: RE: Buachaill On Eirne - cowboy From: GUEST,Bob Coltman Gaelic cowboys yelling "Slainte ye, pard" over the horns of the herd? It has a certain picturesqueness. Unfortunately for this colorful fancy, it's fairly well established that "buckaroo" is from Spanish "vaquero," adapted from members of that trade over the line in Mexico. Bob |
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19 Mar 08 - 11:06 PM (#2293243) Subject: RE: Buachaill On Eirne - cowboy From: Gulliver Sorry, a typo: it should be "buachailleacht bó" not "buaichailleacht bó" (many thanks to the alert readers who PM'd me on this!). I believe that the song "Buachaill Ón Éirne" dates from the early 19th century in Ireland, whereas I recall reading that the term "cow boy" can be traced back to early 17th century England. I don't have an etymological dictionary at hand to check this. Don |
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20 Mar 08 - 12:35 PM (#2293673) Subject: RE: Buachaill On Eirne - cowboy From: GUEST,leeneia I remember reading somewhere that 'Buachaill' simply means 'youth.' At one time, cattle-raising was so central to the Irish economy that the term cowherd was generalized to mean any young male. In my version of O'Neill's Music of Ireland, 'Buachaill' is translated as 'boy' in these songs The boys in the gap The black slender boy I'm a poor rambling boy. The brown-haired boy. No doubt there are others. |