Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbatt!ihnp4!chinet!rissa
From: rissa@chinet.UUCP (Garret and Trish)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic
Subject: Re: Gender of Macintoshes?
Message-ID: <622@chinet.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 12-Oct-86 19:56:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: chinet.622
Posted: Sun Oct 12 19:56:43 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 13-Oct-86 06:06:44 EDT
References: <4246@reed.UUCP>
Reply-To: rissa@chinet.UUCP (Garret and Trish)
Distribution: net
Organization: chi-net, Public Access UN*X, Chicago IL
Lines: 45

Dave Kehoe writes:

>In Gaelic, the O' prefix on a name means "son of",
>e.g. O'Dhomnaill, O'Leary, and the ni prefix, with
>an accent over the i, means "daughter of", e.g.
>Triona ni'Dhomnaill.

>In Scottish, the "Mac" prefix means "son of".  What
>is the Scottish "daughter of" prefix?  And does this
>mean that all Macintosh computers are male?  MacWrite,
>MacPaint, MacTerminal, etc. -- are those all male too?

According to the OED, the O prefix means "descendant" in Irish.
Irish second names that have been anglicized are spelled with
an apostrophe; those that have not been anglicized are not
spelled with the apostrophe:

            O'Leary         O Laoghaire
            O'Hara          O hEadhra

Also according to the OED, the prefix "Mac" is the Gaelic word for
"son" and is used "as a prefix in many Scottish *and* Irish names of
Celtic origin."  

The feminine form of *both* "O" and "Mac" is "Ni"  (note capital "N"
and no apostrophe).

Not only would it seem that all Macintosh computers are male, but
also all MacDonald's hamburgers.

Which is just as well, if you ask me.


         *         *         *          *          *          *


>Also, there's a name for words that are spelled like
>"through" and "though" and "doughnut" -- with extra
>"ugh"s.  Anyone know?


Diphthongs!


Trisha (Librarians know everything) O Tuama