Gift from God?

[sdoyle7798]

So, for something I am working on, I need a Gaelic way of saying “Gift from God” or a similar sentiment.

An online translator I found gave me the following translation: Bronntanais ó Dhia.

Since artificial intelligence can be spotty at times, I wanted to ask you all if this was correct, and also if you can think of anything that sounds better (though, I do like the sound of “Bronntanais ó Dhia”), yet relays the same message.

Thank you all.

EDIT: Should that be Bronntanas instead of Bronntanais?

[Onuvanja]

“Bronntanas ó Dhia” should be all right and also crops up in the Irish-language Corpus. Alternatively, you could say “tíolacadh ó Dhia/tíolacadh Dé” (gift from God) or “tíolacadh ó neamh” (gift from heaven).
Still, I’m not sure whether these expressions would be suitable in all contexts. For example, if I wanted to design a T-shirt that read “God’s Gift” (meaning “I’m God’s gift to mankind”), I would perhaps use “Ar fheabhas Éireann” (“top-notch, the bee’s knees”), “Níl mo shárú ann” (“there’s no match for me”) etc. 🙂

[sdoyle7798]

Thanks for your reply.

Haha. No, I’m not claiming I am God’s gift. They’d be asking God for the reciept if that was the case. 🙂

It’s just for a project I am working on. I’m using the phrase to name something.

Could I use Féirín in place of Bronntanas and have it mean the same thing? From what I have read, people will use féirín, but I also read that it means treat. I thing féirín sounds better, but I really want it to be “gift” or “present” from God, not necessarily “treat.”

Thanks again.

[Onuvanja]

For some reason, I have the impression that “féirín” sounds more lightweight than “bronntanas”, but I’ve seen it used also in reference to Christmas presents, so I think both words would do. There’s also one hit for “féirín ó Dhia” in the Corpus, though the author of the text is not specified and could be a non-native. So I suppose the answer to your question is yes…

[sdoyle7798]

Could you explain what you mean by lightweight?

I’m a bit dense sometimes. 🙂

[Seáinín]

In the Foras na Gaeilge English-Irish Dictionary, they offer tíolacadh ó Dhia (http://www.focloir.ie/en/dictionary/ei/gift?advSearch=1&q=gift from God&inlanguage=en#gift__4).

[Onuvanja]

Could you explain what you mean by lightweight?

I’m a bit dense sometimes. 🙂

Not at all. I can be a bit vague sometimes. 🙂 What I meant was that because “féirín” ends in “-ín” like a diminutive, it sounds somehow smaller and less significant to me than “bronntanas”. But this is probably a misconception of mine… I’ve just checked and “féirín” isn’t a diminutive form at all. In fact, it would seem to come from an old English word “fairing”. So there you go, forget everything I said. 🙂

[sdoyle7798]

Could you explain what you mean by lightweight?

I’m a bit dense sometimes. 🙂

Not at all. I can be a bit vague sometimes. 🙂 What I meant was that because “féirín” ends in “-ín” like a diminutive, it sounds somehow smaller and less significant to me than “bronntanas”. But this is probably a misconception of mine… I’ve just checked and “féirín” isn’t a diminutive form at all. In fact, it would seem to come from an old English word “fairing”. So there you go, forget everything I said. 🙂

Ah, I see what you were getting at.

Bronntanas does sound more… majestic, for lack of a better word. I like that.

The little lady, though, likes Féirín.

So that probably means I’ll end up using Féirín… 😆

EDIT: For the record, the project is a story, so I may be back with more questions about other words/phrases.

I should try and learn the language, and I may, but I won’t have time to really learn it well till after the story is done.

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