Irish: Sláinte means "health"[1] in both Irish and Scottish Gaelic. It is commonly used as a drinking toast in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. However, the toast is also increasingly being used in other countries within the whisky community. [2]
| Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
| English: | slainte | [3] |
| Irish | Irish: sláinte (mhaith) | in Irish pronounced as /ˈsˠl̪ˠaːn̠ʲtʲə (wa)/[4] |
| Scots Gaelic | Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: slàinte (mhath) | in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic pronounced as /ˈs̪l̪ˠaːɲtʲʰə (va)/ |
| Scots Gaelic | Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: do dheagh shlàinte | in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic pronounced as /t̪ə ʝoː ˈl̪ˠaːɲtʲʰə/ |
| Scots Gaelic | Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: slàinte mhòr | in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic pronounced as /ˈs̪l̪ˠaːɲtʲʰə voːɾ/ |
| Manx | Manx: slaynt vie | in Manx pronounced as /slentθ vaːi/[5] |
| Manx | Manx: corp slaynt | in Manx pronounced as /kʰoɾpʰ slentθ/ |
Irish: Sláinte is the basic form in Irish. Variations of this toast include Irish: sláinte mhaith "good health" in Irish (Irish: mhaith being the lenited form of Irish: maith "good"). In Irish, the response to Irish: sláinte is Irish: sláinte agatsa, which translates "to your health as well".
The basic Scottish Gaelic equivalent is Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: slàinte (mhath), with the same meaning, to which the normal response is Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: do dheagh shlàinte "your good health".[6] There are other variations such as:
The Manx Gaelic form is Manx: slaynt (vie)[9] or Manx: shoh slaynt.[10] Alternatively, Manx: corp slaynt "healthy body" is also used in Manx.[5]
The word is an abstract noun derived from the Old Irish adjective Irish, Old (to 900);: slán "whole, healthy" plus the Old Irish suffix Irish, Old (to 900);: tu, resulting in Irish, Old (to 900);: slántu "health" and eventually Middle Irish Irish, Middle (900-1200);: sláinte.[11] [12] The root Irish, Old (to 900);: slán is derived from the Indo-European root *slā- "advantageous" and linked to words like German German: selig "blessed" and the Latin Latin: salus "health".[13]
In some modern Romance languages, words descended from the Latin word Latin: salus (such as Italian: salute in Italian, Catalan; Valencian: salut in Catalan and Romanian, Spanish; Castilian: salud in Spanish) are similarly used as a toast. (However, Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: sănătate in Romanian, Occitan (post 1500);: santat in Occitan and French: santé in French are from Latin Latin: sanitas "health.")