carthanach
The Irish word for benevolent is carthanach.
carthanach is an adjective used to describe someone or something that has a disposition to do good.
Meaning: having a disposition to do good (adj)
Did you know?
- While carthanach describes a benevolent nature, Irish has a distinct tradition of meitheal, a community spirit of benevolent cooperation where neighbors help each other without payment.
- The word carthanach is closely tied to the concept of carthann, meaning 'mercy'. This means that to be benevolent in Irish is historically viewed as the act of showing compassion to someone in a position of weakness.
- While English uses 'benevolent' to describe many things, using carthanach to describe a person's 'benevolent look' can sound overly dramatic or archaic in Irish.
Examples in context
- An duine carthanachThe benevolent person
- Gníomhartha carthanachaBenevolent actions
Example conversation
Oisín and Aoife are discussing a local leader.
- OisínAn bhfuil an tanaiste carthanach?Is the deputy benevolent?
- AoifeTá, cabraíonn sé le gach duine.Yes, he helps everyone.
- OisínIs iontach an rud é sin.That is a wonderful thing.
- AoifeIs duine carthanach é iad iad.He is a benevolent person.
