seanchas

• seanchasc (Ulster)
• seanchus (superseded)

From Old Irish senchas, senchus (“old tales, ancient history, tradition; genealogy; traditional law”),[1] from senchae (“custodian of tradition, historian”) + -as, -us; senchae is from *seno-kʷoisos (literally “old witness”),[2] from Proto-Celtic *senos (“old”) (from Proto-Indo-European *sénos), plus a derivative of *kʷiseti (“to see”);[3] see ad·cí for more. By surface analysis, seancha (“genealogist, historigrapher”) +‎ -as.

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃan̪ˠəxəsˠ/, /ˈʃanˠəxəsˠ/[4][5]
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈʃanˠəxəsˠk/, /ˈʃan̪ˠəxəsˠk/[6] (reflecting the spelling seanchasc)

seanchas m (genitive singular seanchais or seanchasa)

1. the body of historical, genealogical, etc., information that has been handed down by tradition
2. (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, […]

3. (literary) ancient law
4. pedigree
5. (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, page 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.

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

• seanchaí (“storyteller”)

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “seanchas”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Entries containing “seanchas” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
• Entries containing “seanchas” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

• seanachas

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃɛnəxəs̪/

seanchas m (genitive singular seanchais, plural seanchasan)

1. lore
2. chat, talk, gossip

   Synonyms: agallamh, còmhradh

• Can be used as a verbal noun:

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

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “seanchas”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎, 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “senchas, senchus”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language