The potato, for better or worse, has played a major role in Irish life. Despite being a humble vegetable, it has had a significant influence on Irish culture and even on the Irish language. Such was the close relationship between the people of Ireland and the lowly spud that a simple search of the Irish terminology database tearma.ie reveals no fewer than 90 different terms involving the word “potato” — though, admittedly, not all are directly related to the edible kind.
The need for greater speed was obviously important when discussing potatoes. Several concepts relating to the food that would require a phrase or a string of words to describe in English are condensed into single-word terms in Irish. The main Irish word for potato is *prata* (pronounced *prawh-tah*), and it is this word that is used most frequently. However, if you wish to be more precise, there are loads of other options to choose from.
Here are some of the most spud-tacular Irish potato terms:
### 1. Paidrin (pad-reen)
**Meaning:** Very tiny potato
Interestingly, *paidrin* is also the Irish term for the rosary. Could this be a reflection on your need for a prayer if your potato crop turned out to be small?
### 2. Sliomach (shli-muck)
**Meaning:** Very wet potato
Even the sound of this word makes us think of something mushy.
### 3. Creachan (cray-cawn) / Sceidin (shced-een) / Poirin (pour-een)
**Meaning:** Very small potato
The term *creach* by itself means a loss or a pity, perhaps another nod to the desire for large potatoes. *Poirin* can also mean small round stone.
### 4. Caldar (kal-dar) / Peil (pell) / Cnap (k-nop)
**Meaning:** Very big potato
*Peil* is also the Irish word for football. If you add *caldar* before *fir* (men) or *mná* (women), you can describe a big, robust man or woman.
### 5. Ionam (un-um)
**Meaning:** Sweet potato
The sweet potato can also be called by its more literal terms *prata milis* (with *milis* meaning sweet) or *prata Spainneach* (meaning Spanish potato).
### 6. Dradairnín (drad-arh-neen) / Screamhachóir (shcrave-a-core)
**Meaning:** Small, useless potato
The Irish were clearly very concerned with the potato crop turning out small and unusable.
### 7. Prata Breac (prawh-tah brak)
**Meaning:** Semi-rotten potato
### 8. Sceallóga (shkal-og-gah)
**Meaning:** French fries (or chips, as referred to in Ireland)
### 9. Sceallán (shkal-awhn) / Scoilteán (skull-tawn)
**Meaning:** Potato set
A potato set is a potato or a part of a potato used as a seed.
### 10. Brioscáin (bris-kawn) / Críospái (chris-pee)
**Meaning:** Potato chips (known as crisps in Ireland)
### 11. Smoladh (smul-ah) / Duchán (doo-can)
**Meaning:** Potato blight/disease
*Smoladh* is the modern term used to describe a potato disease, while *duchán* is a more historical term, used to describe the blight that devastated potato crops in Ireland in the 1840s and was blamed for the Great Hunger.
### 12. Langan (lan-gawn) / Scealbhoir (shcel-vore) / Logan (log-awn)
**Meaning:** Portion of potato left after removing sets
These three terms specifically refer to the part of the potato that remains once a section has been taken away for planting.
### 13. Falcairé (fal-k-ra)
**Meaning:** Old seed-potato
A seed potato is one that has been planted and used for the production of seeds (like a potato set). *Falcairé* specifically refers to the potato once it has been used for this purpose.
### 14. Bruitín (brew-teen)
**Meaning:** Mashed potato
This word comes from *bru*, which means to force or to put pressure on.
### 15. Samhaí (saw-vee)
**Meaning:** Couch potato
Ok, so this isn’t a direct description of a potato, but we still thought it was a cool word. Use it on any lazybones who can’t get off the couch and enjoy their looks of confusion!
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The potato has clearly left an indelible mark on the Irish language, reflecting its deep cultural significance. For more fascinating terms and details, visit [tearma.ie](https://www.tearma.ie).
https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/craic/irish-words-potatoes
