September 6, 2019

MÊD / MAD - "meadow"

Detail from "Abendläuten" 
by Josef Kinzel (1852-1925)
Today let's break down a common Frisian expression:

It komt my oer 't mad
or
It komt my oer it mêd

It surprises me! (literally, "it comes to me over the meadow") 

[UHt KAHmt MIGH OOrt mAWt] 
or
[UHt KAHmt MIGH OOr UHt mEHt]

This phrase translates as "it takes me by surprise" or "it overtakes or overwhelms me." You'll see it a lot in the past tense too, e.g., Dat kaam my oer 't mad. [dAWt kAWm MIGH OOrt mAWt]

The word mêd or mad means "meadow" in English. It also signifies an old measurement for as much land as one can harvest by scythe in a single day. More figuratively, it can mean “territory” or “terrain." Mêd can also mean "a medium" in the context of art.

Mêd is pronounced [mEHt] and the plural is mêden [mEH-duhn].
Mad is pronounced [mAWt] like it rhymes with "hot." Meadows do get pretty hot in the summer, but that is not a surprise. 

Just to get in a bit more vocabulary, the Frisian for "scythe" is seine. Pronounce it like it contains the word "sign." [SIGH-nuh]. The word seine also means a "blessing," both the sort given with hand signals or in the more general sense.