hireth

Cornish

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *hiraɨθ, from Proto-Celtic *sīr-axto-, akin to Gaulish siraxta (“longing”). Cognate with Welsh hiraeth.

Pronunciation
  • (RLC) IPA(key): /ˈhɪrɛθ/

Noun

hireth f (plural -)

  1. homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, or for a home which may have never been
  2. an intense form of longing or nostalgia, wistfulness
  3. the grief for the lost places of your past

Usage notes

Hiraeth is a difficult word to translate precisely. It, the Welsh hiraeth and the Breton hiraezh are said to be the only exact equivalents of the Portuguese saudade.[1]

References
  1. Williams, Robert (1865) “hireth”, in Lexicon Cornu-Britannicum: A Dictionary of the Ancient Celtic Language of Cornwall, in which the Words are elucidated by Copious Examples from the Cornish Works now remaining; With Translations in English​, London: Trubner & Co., page 217
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