#réimíreanna

[toingaeilge]

The Word 'Leath'

The word leath can be defined as

Side, part

Half

Some phrases that use leath include: 

Ar leith, faoi leith: separate, distinct

Do leith: on the side of

As a Verb

Im a leathadh ar an dtósta To spread butter on the toast

Doras a leathadh To open wide a door

Bhí an chaint ag leathadh ort Your speech was getting indistinct—literally “your speech was parting”

Leath an fuacht é He perished from the cold—literally “the cold split him”

Leath a n-áireamh Their number declined—literally “their number halved”

As a Prefix 

Aside from the obvious leathuair (half an hour, though also “a while”), we have leath expressing anything from “tilted” (lopsided, onesided) to something small (half-grown): 

Leathbheo: dead and alive, literally “half alive” Leathbhróg: one of a pair of shoes  Leathduine cúpla: one of a pair of twins Leathduine: halfwit Leathchiorcal: semi-circle Leathchailín: half-grown girl Leathlámhach: one-handed, also shorthanded

Leathbhróg is a nice one to know, as it is poetic in expressing double-crossing: 

lena leathbhróg ghaelach agus a leathbhróg ghallda with his one shoe Irish and his one shoe English

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The Prefix An- and Munster

In Prefixes, I briefly explained the prefix an- and how it gives its pairing word a séimhiú. 

An-fhada

Of course, the usual rules apply that d, n, t, l and s can never take séimhiú while side by side, so we have:

An-deas

We also know that consonant clusters where adding a séimhiú would make pronunciation very difficult, like those starting sc-, sl-, sm-, sp-, and st- would also not get one. Of course, letters that do not take séimhiú also refuse it: l and n. 

An-spéisiúil

An-leathan

The Munster An-

An- is always pronounced and often spelled as ana- in Munster. 

Because the rule that d, n, t, l and s can never take séimhiú while side by side can no longer apply:

ana-dheas

Because it mightn’t be spelt ana- (but pronounced like that), the written form may still take a séimhiú. 

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So- and Do-

In Prefixes, I briefly explained the so- and do- pairings, major remnants from Old Irish that make up a pair of polarity items with so- meaning ‘good‘ or ‘positive’ and do- meaning ‘bad’ or ‘negative’.

Strictly speaking, so- and do- cannot always be called prefixes as most words that contain them do not exist as words without them. Exceptions include léite and creidte.

As prefixes, so- can be interpreted as ‘easily’, while do- can mean ‘with difficulty’:

léite: read soléite: (easily) legible doléite: illegible

creidte: believed sochreidte: credible dochreidte: incredible

As requested, here is a list of more so- and do- pairs: 

So-

Do-

Saibhir Saoi Saoirse Saor Saoránach So-lasta Sochar Sochma Sochreidte Soilbhir Soiléir Soilíos Soineann Soineanta Sólás Soléite Sonas Sorcha Suáilce Suairc

Rich Expert Freedom Free Citizen Flammable Profit Easy-going Credible Merry Clear Benefit, favour Fair weather Serene Comfort (Easily) legible Good luck Brightness Virtue Agreeable

Daibhir Daoi Daoirse Daor Daoránach Do-lasta Dochar Dochma Dochreidte Doilbhir Doiléir Doilíos Doineann Doineanta Dólás Doléite Donas Dorcha Duáilce Duairc

Poor Ignorant person Slavery Expensive; condemned; unfree Convict Non-flammable Loss Distressed Incredible Gloomy Obscure; vague Difficulty, reluctance Bad weather Stormy Tribulation Illegible Ill luck Darkness Vice Bad-humoured

Try it

What might these words mean?

1. Dobhriste 2. Sodhéanta

Hover below for answers

1. Unbreakable, sacred 2. Easily done

[toinghaeilge]

Rules: Gender Nouns

Masculine words

Definite article beginning with a consonant: no change (an pobal)

Definite article beginning with a vowel: t-prefix (an t-uisce)

Adjectives: no change (fear bocht)

Genitive case: noun, an, then second noun with séimhiú and, in most cases, a slightly different spelling (Oifig an Phoist)

Note: Certain words do not change in the genitive case (lána bus) Certain phrases do not have an in the middle (cúirt leadóige)

Feminine words

Definite articles beginning with consonants: séimhiú (an chistin)

Definite article beginning with a vowel: no change (an oifig)

Definite articles beginning with s: t-prefix (an tseachtain)

Adjectives: séimhiú (beoir fhuar)

Genitive case: noun, na, then second noun with, in most cases, a slightly different spelling (Cumann na mBan)

Further reading: The Article in the Genitive

Note: Certain words do not change in the genitive case (Cogadh na Saoirse) Certain phrases do not have na in the middle (mála scoile)

The most common exception to these rules are words beginning with D, N, T, L, or S. If these letters are next to each other in a sentence, the second word doesn’t get a séimhiú.

Also, t-prefixes only apply to the definite article, and not when it is in the genitive or with a preposition. (chonaic mé an t-iriseoir but ar an iriseoir; obair an iriseora)

However, with attribute adjectives, we have an exception to the exception: an bhean dheas is correct.

Identifying Genders

Try it

Translate these:

1. The game 2. The woman 3. Nightfall

Hover below for answers

1. An cluiche 2. An bhean 3. Titim na hoíche / teacht na hoíche

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The Prefix Eachtar-

Although this isn’t a particularly common prefix, I find it interesting. Eachtar-, as a prefix, means “external”, “outlying” or “foreign”. 

With this information, you may be able to guess that eachtardhomhanda means extraterrestrial or “beyond terrestial”. We are also able to make guesses that domhanda pertains to domhain, meaning “Earth”.

Eachtar: beyond Domhanda: terrestrial

Less obviously, though, we have eachtarchríoch: foreign territory or “beyond the end”.  

Eachtar: beyond Críoch: end

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Corrthónacht

The word corrthónacht is defined as “restlessness; fidgetiness”. 

Corr- as a prefix is given by Ó Dónaill’s Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla (1977) as:

Odd, occasional, eccentric

Tapering, pointed

Angular, projecting

Rounded, curved

Tónacht is derived from tóin, referring to one’s arse. For example, tóin with the suffix -ach gives tónach: large-bottomed.  Recall that the suffix -ach can change a noun into an adjective:

Common suffixes and their usage 

With the suffix -acht, tónacht can be translated somewhat as “arsedness”. As such, corrthónacht can be literally translated to odd-arsedness, pointed-arsedness or eccentric arsedness. Pretty accurate, if you ask me.

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An Fleiscín

With the Urú

The hyphen is used in Irish after t and n when these are attached to a word starting with a vowel:

An t-arán A n-iníon

However, when the vowel is capitalised, it is not used:

An tAlbanach Ár nAthair

This means we use An t-athair for the father (i.e. the parent of someone) but an tAthair for the Father (i.e. a priest).

Remember than the plural possessive (ár/bhur/a) triggers urú: The Possessive Adjective

Compound Words

The hyphen is also used in compound words

When it separates two vowels:

mí-ádh

When it separates two of the same consonant sounds:

droch-chaint sár-riail

In a three-part compound word:

buan-chomhchoiste

Between prefixes do-, fo-, so- and bha, bhla, bhra, dha, gha, ghla, ghra, mha:

do-bhlasta; fo-bhaile

In titles

An Príomh-Bhreitheamh

After the prefixes an- and dea-:

an-mhór, dea-nuacht

Post: How Important is the Fleiscín?

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The Prefix Sain-

When we see a word beginning with sain-, we can caution a guess that it has got to do with something specific or specialised. As a prefix, sain- refers to something specialised: 

Sainigh: specify or define Saniúil: specific Saineolas: sain + eolas [*]: specific information; expertise Saineolaí: expert

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The Prefix Éa-

We know from Forming Compound Words that the second part usually takes séimhiú, with a few exceptions of not taking any mutation at all. However, there is the one prefix that actually triggers urú—the prefix éa. 

In this case, however, the letter that is being eclipsed is omitted entirely in the compound word. 

Introduction: The Eclipsis

Éa is equivalent to “un-” as a prefix:

Cothrom: level; balance Éagothrom: unevenness, imbalance

Cosúil: similar to Éagsúil: dissimilar

Cóir: justice Éagóir: injustice

Similarly, with ‘T’s:

Trom: heavy Éadrom: light

Tairiseach: trustworthy Éadairiseach: untrustworthy

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The Prefix Fo-

In Prefixes, we gave the definition of fo- as ‘sub’, ‘under’ and ‘secondary’, but I think giving just the one example doesn’t quite express the scope of this prefix. 

Baile: town Fobhaile: suburb

Teideal: title Fotheidil: subtitle

Bríste: trousers Fobhriste: underwear (I prefer subtrousers)

[toingaeilge]

The Prefix Fo-

In Prefixes, we gave the definition of fo- as ‘sub’, ‘under’ and ‘secondary’, but I think giving just the one example doesn’t quite express the scope of this prefix. 

Baile: town Fobhaile: suburb

Teideal: title Fotheidil: subtitle

Bríste: trousers Fobhriste: underwear (I prefer subtrousers)

[toinghaeilge]

The Prefix Iar-

On its own, iar refers to an “after” (chronological, not spatial), as in “after death” or “after everyone else”. 

As a prefix, it is effectively the same:

Your iarfhear céile would be your ex-husband. (iarchéile is gender neutral) My iarfhear poist is my ex-postman.  A procedure iarbháis would be a post-mortem one.  An iar-aimsire is a later time. 

We also commonly see iar- used to mean “west” or “western”, so you’ll have to derive the meaning based on context. Clearly, your iarfhear cheile cannot possibly mean your west husband (or it could, I can’t speak on your behalf). 

What’s an Iaráiceach? An Iraqi. An Iaránach? An Iranian. This is where knowing suffixes help us too! The suffix -ach is added to nouns to create adjectives. 

[toingaeilge]

The Prefix Iar-

On its own, iar refers to an “after” (chronological, not spatial), as in “after death” or “after everyone else”. 

As a prefix, it is effectively the same:

Your iarfhear céile would be your ex-husband. (iarchéile is gender neutral) My iarfhear poist is my ex-postman.  A procedure iarbháis would be a post-mortem one.  An iar-aimsire is a later time. 

We also commonly see iar- used to mean “west” or “western”, so you’ll have to derive the meaning based on context. Clearly, your iarfhear cheile cannot possibly mean your west husband (or it could, I can’t speak on your behalf). 

What’s an Iaracách? An Iraqi. An Iaránach? An Iranian. This is where knowing suffixes help us too! The suffix -ach is added to nouns to create adjectives. 

[toinghaeilge]

The Prefix Leas-

The prefix leas- sounds nothing at all like leas as a word. 

Ó Dónaill’s Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla (1977) gives the prefix as:

Vice-, deputy

Step-

leasainm: by-name, nickname

And the word leas itself:

Good, well-being, benefit, interest

Manure, fertilizer

This is because they’re not at all from the same word! The prefix comes from the old English lēas, meaning ‘false’, ‘vain’ or ‘void’, while the word comes from the Old Irish less, meaning ‘benefit’ or ‘profit’. 

As such, we can have leasainmneacha (nicknames or “false” names), leasathaireacha (stepdads or “false” dads) and leasuachtarán (vice president or step-president, if you will). 

[toingaeilge]

The Prefix Leas-

The prefix leas- sounds nothing at all like leas as a word. 

Ó Dónaill’s dictionary gives the prefix as:

Vice-, deputy

Step-

leasainm: by-name, nickname

And the word leas itself:

Good, well-being, benefit, interest

Manure, fertilizer

This is because they’re not at all from the same word! The prefix comes from the old English lēas, meaning ‘false’, ‘vain’ or ‘void’, while the word comes from the Old Irish less, meaning ‘benefit’ or ‘profit’. 

As such, we can have leasainmneacha (nicknames or “false” names), leasathaireacha (stepdads or “false” dads) and leasuachtarán (vice president or step-president, if you will). 

[toinghaeilge]

Neamh, Neamh- and Néamh

In Prefixes, I wrote that neamh meant “non-”. However, neamh as a word on its own means “heaven”, and this causes trouble with guessing what certain compound words might mean! 

For example, in Prefixes, I wrote that

Balbh: mute neamhbhalbh: outspoken

It’s got nothing to do with “heaven”. In fact, I’d argue that it’s more heavenly without “neamh” going into the mix. 

Mostly, when neamh- appears as a prefix, it will be some form of “non-”, “un-” or “-in”, but you might encounter words like neamhaí: heavenly. 

You might even encounter the word néamh- in some compound words. It’s got a fada over the 'e' (and so a different word). Néamhann is a precious gem or a beautiful young woman or girl. Néamh- as a prefix comes from the word niamh (like the name), meaning “brightness”.