# Irish loan-word :  Brus



## L'irlandais

Yipe it's me again,
Still on the subject of loan-words.  However it is begining to seem like I have opened a whole new can of worms, as these "_loan-words_" appear to be regional in character.
So even if I should go on and post 36 loan-words, there is little chance they will coincide with the dozens of loan-words with which any other forum user may be familiar with.
_cipín_ = _twig _"Would you bring in some *kippins* to light the fire?" Rather than _cipíní_, the plural in Irish.
Compare *smithíriní *fragments which becomes _smithereens_.  (When breaking up firewood, for example.) 
Yet *Bros *= _small pieces_ (of turf for example) is not subject to this treatment.  Presumably because it already ends in "*s*".
All three of them have been ingrained on my mind since early childhood, despite the very mild winters in West Cork.  Odd that.  :~

Anybody else come across *Bros* outside my context of West Cork?


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## elirlandes

Bros - never heard of it (save for the kitsch twin boy band of the 1980s).
The other words, I have seen used in english regularly.

Of course the Irish language loan-word that has travelled the furtherest must be "Gláth mór" / glamour (English/French/Spanish)...


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## L'irlandais

Hi ya,
I suspose _Bros_ is the exception to the rule then.
*An Crúibín* is a pig's trotter.  Yet, grilled (salted) pig's trotters are called *Cruibins* (or even _crubeens_).  So is there a trend showing here, one of loan-words taking an "*s*" for the plural, rather than becoming _crúibíní_ ?





> Appearantly “_Crúibín_” is the diminutive of “_*crúb*_”, which means the hoof or claw of any animal.


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## Pedro y La Torre

Crubeen(s) is of course still a word in popular use.

Like elirlandes, I can't say I've ever come across Bros before though.


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## CapnPrep

elirlandes said:


> Of course the Irish language loan-word that has travelled the furtherest must be "Gláth mór" / glamour (English/French/Spanish)...


I think you should add some kind of smiley here…

Back on topic: The original Irish word is _brus_, which is apparently a mass noun with no plural form. (Scottish Gaelic, on the other hand, uses the plural form _bruis_.) Do you use _bros_ a plural noun in English? For example, would you say "Sweep up that bros" or "Sweep up those bros"?

As for the more general question of plurals, some loanwords are borrowed into English along with their original plural forms, like _Garda/Gardaí_. But I would expect there to be very few cases like this. We say _loughs_ and _brogues_, for example, not _loughanna_ and _broga_.


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## L'irlandais

Hi,
Thanks for that, *brus* is spot on.  _Bros_ was my mistaken attempt to spell it, based on a flawed memory & West Cork accent.  That explains why I didn't spot it in my dictionary too. * Brus *= fragments.
By the way, I've no clear memory of it's usage, sorry for the lack of precision. 

See Pedro's comment in this other discussion in relation to the use of Gardaí.  (Not a regular loan-word.)


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