Garsun
A boy, especially a young one in service - the errand-runner, the lad sent for the messages, the boy at the back of a shop. Affectionate in older usage; now lightly archaic but still in regular speech across the country.
Etymology
Borrowed into Irish from Anglo-Norman 'garçun' (= Old French 'garçon', boy or servant). The Irish language took the word in two regional forms: Munster 'garsún' and Connemara/Ulster 'gasúr'. Hiberno-English borrowed both, giving today's spelling variants - garsun, gasun, gossoon, gazoon. The standard English form 'gossoon' is attested from 1675 onwards.
In a sentence
"He started as a garsun in the shop and ended up owning the place."
Historical notes
The regional spread is worth knowing. Munster Irish 'garsún' (and its Hiberno-English spelling 'garsun') means a boy, full stop. Connemara Irish 'gasúr' (Hiberno-English 'gasun') means a child of either gender. Ulster Irish 'gasúr' agrees with Munster - a boy. So a Connacht speaker calling someone a gasun is being gender-neutral; an Ulster or Munster speaker is naming a boy.
Alternate spellings
gasun · gossoon · garsoon · gazoon
Sources
- Oxford English Dictionary, entry gossoon n. · dictionary
- Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill), entries garsún and gasúr. · dictionary