Basque to English

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donna500
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Joined: 09 Dec 2011 10:18

Basque to English

Post by donna500 »

Many years ago at a Basque event I bought a silver pendant. It is called a Basque rosary. The basic design is a flat ring with ten beads attached to the perimeter. On the ring an inscription reads: OTHOI AMA MAITEA. What do these words mean? Thank you for your help.
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solbjerg
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Joined: 01 Sep 2007 08:43
Location: Denmark

Re: Basque to English

Post by solbjerg »

Hi donna
I looked around and came up with othoi - eternal, ama - mother, maitea - love, as tentative possibilities.
Perhaps the mother is the Virgin Mother?
The Othoi, ama maitea is a line in a song from the 1870'ies that look a bit like a psalm.
I am sorry that I can't say for sure, but I do not know the language.
Cheers
solbjerg
donna500 wrote:Many years ago at a Basque event I bought a silver pendant. It is called a Basque rosary. The basic design is a flat ring with ten beads attached to the perimeter. On the ring an inscription reads: OTHOI AMA MAITEA. What do these words mean? Thank you for your help.
Olivier
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Re: Basque to English

Post by Olivier »

Otoi means "please", since you found it at the beginning of a religious song it seems to mean "please beloved mother (Mary) ..." (we are only one year late with the answer...)
-- Olivier
Se nem kicsi, se nem nagy: Ni trop petit(e), ni trop grand(e):
Éppen hozzám való vagy! Tu es juste fait(e) pour moi!
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solbjerg
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Re: Basque to English

Post by solbjerg »

Hi Olivier
I bow to your knowledge!
But there seemed to be a difference between otoi and othoi?
Too bad that there isn't more activity in this forum.
(freelang deserves more recognition to my mind)
Perhaps a free translation could be "Hail Mary full of grace" - I should have remembered to copy the address of the site with the song, - but it wasn't very difficult to find.
Regards
solbjerg
Olivier wrote:Otoi means "please", since you found it at the beginning of a religious song it seems to mean "please beloved mother (Mary) ..." (we are only one year late with the answer...)
-- Olivier
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