WONDROUS WORDS: Seisún & Bodhran

May17

This week’s word comes from the first in the Rare Book Murder series, The Dirty Book Murder. The protagonist is visiting his favourite Irish pub:

An informal seisún began in a corner with a fiddler, a bodhran player, and a girl with a pennywhistle. They played “The Bold Fenian Men” and followed that with “Black and Tan” to put the crowd in a fine rebel mood.

seisún: a mostly informal gathering at which people play Irish traditional music. From the Irish sheisiún: session; from Old French session, from Latin sessiō ‎(“a sitting”), from sedeō ‎(“sit”).

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bodhran /ˈbôˌrän,-rən/: a shallow one-sided Irish drum typically played with a short two-headed drumstick. Origin: Irish bodhrán. The first known use is 1972.

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Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered or spotlight words you love. It’s hosted by Kathy at Bermuda Onion. Hop on over and see what wondrous words other bloggers have discovered this week.

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posted under Link-ups, Wondrous Words

8 Comments to

“WONDROUS WORDS: Seisún & Bodhran”

On May 18th, 2016 at 10:18 am BermudaOnion (Kathy) Says:
A seisun sounds like a lot of fun! Those are new words for me.
On May 18th, 2016 at 11:33 am Judy Says:
OOH! I have this book on my Kindle. I need to get to it and see if I can find other wondrous words. Thanks for sharing.
On May 18th, 2016 at 5:47 pm Margot @ Joyfully Retired Says:
How much fun that would be to go to a bodhran. It makes me think of a lively time with people clapping, singing, maybe dancing.
On May 18th, 2016 at 5:48 pm Margot @ Joyfully Retired Says:
Whoops, I think I meant seisun.
On May 18th, 2016 at 6:55 pm Debbie Rodgers @Exurbanis Says:
I agree, Kathy and Margot – a seisun does sound like fun. Much like a ceidilh (KAY-lee) which is a type of Gaelic kitchen party. I might do a post on that in the future!
On May 19th, 2016 at 1:15 am Judy Krueger Says:
We attended many a seisun when we visited Ireland some years ago. But just the other day I had to look up bodhran because I came across another version of the word in a W B Yeats poem. I was kind of proud of myself that I remembered it was a drum.
On May 19th, 2016 at 10:03 am Debbie Says:
You should be pleased with yourself, Judy. I have a friend who actually plays a bodhran (I had the pleasure of seeing her play a couple of years ago) and I completely forgot that I knew what it was!
On May 19th, 2016 at 4:01 pm Lisa Says:
Fun words! I love finding new words when I’m reading!