‘learning’, O.Ir. legend; Lʹɛəs, ‘to cure, healing’, M.Ir. leges. The younger people substitute ɛə sometimes for ö̤꞉ of the older folks, as in ɛərk, ‘horn’. The word for ‘corn-crake’ occurs as trɛənə and trö̤꞉nə, Di. traona. tʹɛəm, an abbreviated form for ‘give me’, is commonly stated to have come in from Connaught but its developement is not clear and it is also found in Farney, Sg. Fearn. p. 50. By the side of tʹɛəm tαiəm is also heard. O.Ir. ia preceded by r < rʹ, Rʹ gives ö̤꞉, ɛə in rö̤꞉χtənəs, rɛəχtənəs, ‘need’; srɛən, ‘bridle’, M.Ir. srían, cp. § 73. The word for ‘one’, O.Ir. óin, has a variety of pronunciations. ⅄꞉n, ö̤꞉n, i꞉n stand for ‘one’ in counting &c. whilst ɛən means ‘a single one, any’, ·ɛən ·çïN ə·wα̃꞉nʹ, ‘not a single one’, further reduced to ən, for which see § 136.
§ 157. O.Ir. accented e + d + cons. gives ɛə in Lʹɛəb, ‘strip of cloth, land’, Di. leadhb, Macbain leòb, M.Ir. ledb; mʹɛəg, ‘whey’, M.Ir. medg; mʹɛəwə, M.Ir. Medb; bαnɛəmataχ, ‘housekeeper’, Di. feadhmannta.
11. ei.
§ 158. ei represents O.Ir. accented é before a palatal consonant and therefore frequently corresponds to ɛə before other consonants. Examples—bʹeilʹ, gen. sing. of bʹɛəl, ‘mouth’; bʹlʹeinʹ, ‘groin’, M.Ir. blén, but plur. bʹlʹɛəNLαχə; eilʹuw, ‘to claim’ (commonly used of animals clamouring for food, locally ‘to crave’), M.Ir. éliugud; eirʹ, gen. sing. of ɛ꞉r, ‘air’, O.Ir. áer; eiʃkʹ, gen. sing. of iəsk, ‘fish’; eiʃtʹαχt, ‘listen’, M.Ir. éitsecht; smʹeirʹə, gen. sing. of smʹɛ꞉r, ‘blackberry’; spʹeirʹ, ‘sky’, Di. spéir; ʃeidʹuw, ‘to blow’, O.Ir. sétiud; ʃLʹeivtʹə, plur. of ʃLʹiuw, ‘mountain’, O.Ir. sliab (gə Lα꞉ Nʹ tʹlʹeivə, ‘till Doomsday’, cp. Cl. S. 20 viii ’04 p. 6 col. 1).
§ 159. ei may arise by contraction owing to the quiescence of intervocalic g, d (Mod.Ir. gh, dh), e.g. in LʹeiNʹ, gen. sing. of LʹɛəN, ‘learning’, O.Ir. legend; Lʹeiʃ, gen. sing. of Lʹɛəs, ‘healing, cure’, M.Ir. leges. For Lʹeijəm, ‘I read, melt’, see § 153.
§ 160. ei arises sporadically in a few cases where an accented ai, oi is followed by g, d, e.g. eirʹə, ‘ice’, bʹïrəNỹ꞉ eirʹɔgʹə, ‘icicles’, M.Ir. aigred, oigred; eirʹə, ‘heir’, Atk. oigir; seivir, ‘rich’, M.Ir. saidbir; Lʹei, ‘a leech, doctor’, plur. Lʹeiji꞉, LʹeijəNỹ꞉, O.Ir. liaig. eilʹi꞉nʹ, ‘a brood of chickens’, and eilʹɔg, ‘a young chicken’, are altogether anomalous. They are perhaps due to confusion between α꞉l, ‘litter’ and eirʹɔg, ‘a pullet’, Di. éireog, M.Ir. eirin.
