Sláinte
The standard Irish toast: 'health!' or 'cheers!' Said when glasses meet. Also the everyday Irish noun for health itself - so 'do sláinte' is 'your health', and 'sláinte poiblí' is public health.
Etymology
From Old Irish 'sláinte', meaning health, salvation, and (in legal usage) exemption from liability. The root is a word for 'whole' or 'healthy', shared with Scottish Gaelic 'slàinte' and Manx 'slaynt'. The toast use parallels French 'santé!', German 'Gesundheit!', and Russian 'za zdorovye!' - a near-universal Indo-European habit of raising a glass to the listener's health rather than the speaker's pleasure.
In a sentence
"Sláinte! - and one more for the road, would you?"
Historical notes
Sláinte is now one of the most internationally recognised Irish words, alongside 'craic' and 'fáilte'. Its anglicised spelling sometimes drops the fada ('slainte'), particularly on pub signage and tourist souvenirs, but the careful written form keeps the accent. The extended form 'sláinte mhaith' (good health) and the formal 'sláinte chugat' (health to you) are also in current use in Irish-speaking households.
Alternate spellings
slainte
Sources
- Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla (Ó Dónaill), entry sláinte. · dictionary