Irish

Alternative forms

• seanchasc (Donegal)
• seanchus (obsolete)

Noun

seanchas m ‎(genitive singular seanchais or seanchasa)

1. the body of historical, genealogical, etc., information that has been handed down by tradition
   1. (literary) history, lore, ancient tale (such as a fairy tale), account
      • 1919, First Dáil of Ireland, Message to the Free Nations of the World:

        I gcúrsáibh náisiúntachta, tá deighilt ó bhonn idir Éire agus Sacsa i dtaoibh cineadh is teangan, béas is nós is seanchus.

        Nationally, the race, the language, the customs and traditions of Ireland are radically distinct from the English.

      • 1920, Adam Mickiewicz, translated by Liam Ó Rinn, Leabhar na Polainne (translation of Księgi narodu polskiego i pielgrzymstwa polskiego), p. 93:

        Siniad Leabhar an Náisiúin Pholannaig agus Leabhar na nOilithreach bPolannach, leabhair nár ceapadh, ach a cnósadh a’ leabhraibh seanchuis na Polainne, […]

        Those are the Book of the Polish Nation and the Book of the Polish Pilgrims, books that were not made up, but collected from the books of Polish lore, […]

   2. (literary) ancient law
   3. pedigree
2. (act of) storytelling, gossiping; chatting, inquiring about another's health, etc.
   • 1906, “Scéal Ghiolla na gCochall Craicionn”, Téacsanna ó na Gleannta, printed in E. C. Quiggin, A Dialect of Donegal, p. 231:

     Labhair sí leis ⁊ ní robh sé fonnmhar seanchas(c) air bith do dheánadh.

     She spoke to him but he was not willing to do any chatting.

   • 1929, Tomás Ó Criomhthain, An t-Oileánach, p. 65:

     Ní h-í an chomhairle sin óm’ mháthair is mó do mhaoluigh me ach bhíos ana-thugtha do sheanchas Thomáis agus thógas de rogha bheith ag éisteacht leis.

     It wasn’t this advice from my mother that moderated me the most, but I was very attached to Tomás’s storytelling, and I made the choice to listen to him.

Declension

Derived terms

• banseanchas ‎(“women’s lore”)
• dinnseanchas ‎(“topography”)
• naomhsheanchas ‎(“hagiography”)

Related terms

• seanchaí ‎(“storyteller”)

Mutation

References

• “senchas, senchus” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
• Franz Nikolaus Finck, 1899, Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, 229.
• Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*kʷiso-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-17336-1, page 180
• "seanchas" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish senchas, senchus ‎(“old tales, ancient history, tradition; genealogy; traditional law”).

Noun

seanchas m ‎(genitive singular seanchais, plural seanchasan)

1. lore
2. chat, talk, gossip

Usage notes

• Can be used as a verbal noun:

  Bha iad a' seanchas ri chèile.‎ ― They were talking to each other.

Synonyms

• (talk): còmhradh, agallamh