sláinte (mhaith) [slɑːnʲtʲə wah] do dheagh shlàinte [t̪ə ʝoː lˠ̪aːɲtʲʰə] slaynt vie [slent vaːi] | slàinte (mhath) [s̪lˠ̪aːɲtʲʰə va] slàinte mhòr [s̪lˠ̪ɑːɲtʲʰə voːɾ] corp slaynt [koɾp slent] | |
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Sláinte or slàinte (SLAHN-chə) is a word literally translating as "health" in several Gaelic languages and is commonly used as a drinking toast in Ireland and Scotland.
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Variations
Sláinte is the basic form in Irish Gaelic. Variations of this toast include sláinte mhaith "good health" in Irish (mhaith being the lenited form of maith "good"). In Irish Gaelic, the response to sláinte is sláinte agad-sa, which translates "to your health as well".
The basic Scottish Gaelic equivalent is slàinte (mhath) (same meaning) to which the normal response is do dheagh shlàinte "your good health". There are other variations such as:
The Manx Gaelic form is slaynt (vie) or shoh slaynt. Alternatively, corp slaynt "healthy body" is also used in Manx.
The toast is mispronounced by non-native speakers in various ways, most commonly with excessive voicing as /ˈzlɑːndʒ/ (see the Pronunciation box on this page for a guide to the correct pronunciation).
Etymology
The word is an abstract noun derived from the Old Irish adjective slán "whole, healthy" plus the Old Irish suffix tu, resulting in slántu "health" and eventually Middle Irish sláinte. The root slán is derived from the Indo-European root *slā- "advantageous" and linked to words like German selig "blessed" and the Latin salus "health".
In some modern Romance languages, words descended from the Latin word salus (such as salute in Italian, salut in Catalan and Romanian, salud in Spanish) are similarly used as a toast. (However, sănătate in Romanian, santat in Occitan and santé in French are rather from Latin sanitas "health.")