Graiméar na Gaedhilge/Part II Chapter X

by Christian Brothers

CHAPTER X.

---

WORD-BUILDING.

---

Prefixes.

455. The following is a list of the principal prefixes used in Irish. Some of them have double forms owing to the rule caol le caol.

ais or éis, back, again; like the English re‑;

íoc, payment; aisíoc, repayment, restitution.

aṁ	or	aiṁ,	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	Negative particles	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	réiḋ, even; aiṁréiḋ, uneven.
an	„	ain,				tráṫ, time; i n‑antráṫ, untimely.
dí	„	dío,[1]				ceann, a head; díċeannaḋ, to behead.
mí	„	mío,				coṁairle, an advice; míoċoṁairle, an evil advice.
neaṁ	„	neiṁ,				niḋ, a thing; neiṁniḋ, nothing, non-entity.
eas,						cáirdeas, friendship; easċáirdeas, enmity.

é or éa, a negative particle. It eclipses c and t and becomes éag before s. Cóir, just; éagcóir, unjust; trom, heavy; éadtrom, light; cosṁail, like; eugsaṁail, different.

droċ, bad, evil; meas, esteem; droċ-ṁeas, reproach, disesteem.

coṁ, equal; aimsir, time; coṁ-aimsearaċ, contemporary.

an,	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	Intensifying particles	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	mór, big; an-ṁór, very big.
il, iol,				daṫ, a colour; ioldaṫaċ, many-coloured.
ró,				mór, big; ró-ṁór, too big.
sár,				te, warm; sár-ṫe, excessively warm
lán,				aiḋḃéil, vast; lán-aiḋḃéil, awfully vast.
úr,				gránda, ugly; úr-ġránda, very ugly.

leaṫ, a half; leaṫ-uair, half an hour; sgeul, a story; leiṫ-sgeul, an excuse.

in, ion, fit, suitable; deunta, done; in-deunta, fit to be done; ráiḋte, said; ion-ráiḋte, fit to be said; ion-ṁolta, praiseworthy; ion-ólta, drinkable; in-iṫte, eatable, edible. (See pars. 286, 288.)

reuṁ, before; ráiḋte, said; reuṁ-ráiḋte, aforesaid.

friṫ, back; friṫ-ṫeaċt, coming and going; friṫ-ḃualaḋ, palpitation, or a return stroke.

ban, a feminine prefix; flaiṫ, a prince; ban-ḟlaiṫ, a princess; bain-tiġearna, a lady.

aṫ, a reiterative particle: ráḋ, a saying; aṫ-ráḋ, a repetition; aṫuair, another time; an aṫḃliaḋain, next year; an aṫṡeaċtṁain, next week. Aṫ has sometimes the force of “dis” in dismantle, as cumaḋ, to form; aṫċumaḋ, to deform, destroy; ríoġaḋ, to crown, to elect a king; aṫríoġaḋ, to dethrone.

biṫ, bioṫ, lasting, constant; buan, lasting; bioṫ-ḃuan, everlasting; biṫ-ḟíreun, ever-faithful.

do and so, two particles which have directly opposite meanings, as have often the letters d and s. Do denotes difficulty, ill, or the absence of some good quality; so denotes the opposite.

do-ḋeunta, hard to be done	so-ḋeunta, easy to be done
dólás, sorrow	sólás, comfort, joy
donas, bad-luck	sonas, good-luck
duḃaċ, sad	suḃaċ, merry
daiḋḃir, poor	saiḋḃir, rich
daoi, a fool	saoi a wise man
díṫ, want, misery	síṫ, peace, plenty
duḃailce, vice	suḃailce, virtue
daor, condemned, dear	saor, free, cheap
doċar, harm	soċar, profit
dona, unlucky, unhappy	sona, lucky, happy
doineann, bad weather	soineann, fine weather
docaṁail, inconvenient	socaṁail, convenient

aċ, when it is the termination of an adjective, means full of, abounding in: briaṫar, a word; briaṫraċ, wordy, talkative; feuraċ, grassy.

aċ, when it is the termination of a noun, denotes a person or personal agent: as Éireannaċ, an Irishman; Albanaċ; a Scotchman.

aċt is an abstract termination, like the English ‑ness: milis, sweet; milseaċt, sweetness.

N.B.—The termination ‑aċt is usually added to adjectives.

aiḋe, uiḋe, iḋe, are personal terminations denoting an agent: sgeul, a story; sgeuluiḋe, a storyteller; cos, a foot; coisiḋe, a pedestrian.

aire, ire, are also personal terminations denoting an agent: cealg, deceit; cealgaire, a deceiver.

aṁail, a termination having the very same force as the English like or ly: fearaṁail, manly; flaiṫeaṁail, princely, generous.

as, eas, or sometimes s alone, an abstract termination like aċt: maiṫ, good: maiṫeas, goodness; ceann, a head; ceannas, headship, authority.

ḃar and ḃre have a collective force: as, duille, a leaf (of a tree); duilleaḃar, foliage.

ḋa, da, or ta, is an adjectival termination which has usually the force of the English ‑like: mórḋa, majestic; órḋa, golden; gallda, exotic, foreign (from gall, a stranger, a foreigner).

e is an abstract termination like aċt or as: whenever it is added to an adjective the resulting abstract noun, owing to the rule “caol le caol,” has the very same form as the genitive singular feminine of the adjective: as, fial, generous; féile, generosity; árd, high; áirde, height; geal, bright; gile, brightness; áilne, beauty.

laċ, naċ, raċ, taċ, traċ, have all the same meaning as aċ, viz., full of, abounding in: muc, a pig; muclaċ, a piggery; coill, a wood; coillteaċ, a place full of woods; fuilteaċ, bloody; toilteaċ (toilteannaċ), willing.

ṁar means full of, abounding in: ceol, music; ceolṁar, musical; greann, fun; greannṁar, full of fun, amusing; ciallṁar, sensible, intelligent.

óir, dóir, or tóir, denotes a personal agent: speal, a scythe; spealadóir, a mower, reaper; doirseóir, a door-keeper.

Diminutives.

457. In Irish there are three diminutive terminations, viz., ín, án, and óg. However, ín is practically the only diminutive termination in Modern Irish as án and óg have almost lost their diminutive force. A double diminutive is sometimes met with, as árdáinín, a very little height.

ÍN.

458. The termination ÍN, meaning “small” or “little,” may be added to almost every Irish noun. Whenever the final consonant is broad it must be made slender (as the ín always remains unaltered), the vowels undergoing the same changes as in the formation of the genitive singular, but Ċ is not changed into Ġ (see pars. 60 and 78).

asal, an ass	asailín,	a	little	ass
fear, a man	firín,	a	„	man
gort, a field	goirtín,	a	„	field
cailleaċ, an old woman	cailliċín,	a	„	old woman
sráid, a street	sráidín,	a	„	street, a lane

If the noun ends in E, drop the E and add ÍN; but if the noun ends in A, drop the A and attenuate the preceding consonant; then add ÍN.

páisde   páisdín   Nóra   Nóirín   mála   máilín

sruṫán, a brook,	from	sruṫ, a stream.
árdán, a hillock,	„	árd, high.
dealgán, a knitting-needle,	„	dealg, a thorn.
biorán, a pin,	„	bior, a spit.
leaḃrán, a booklet,	„	leaḃar, a book.
geugán, a twig,	„	geug, a branch.
loċán, a little lake,	„	loċ, a lake.
sgiaṫán, a wing,	„	sgiaṫ, a shield.

The above are examples of real diminutives, but such examples are not very numerous.

piastóg (péisteog),	a worm,	from	piast, a reptile.
lasóg,	a match,	„	las, a light.
gaḃlóg,	a little fork,	„	gaḃal, a fork.

These are examples of real diminutives in óg, but such real diminutives are not numerous, as most nouns in óg have practically the same meaning as the nouns from which they were derived (the latter being now generally obsolete): cuileog, a fly, from cuil, a fly; driseóg, a briar, from dris, a briar; fuinnseóg, an ash, from fuinnse, an ash.

In Craig’s Grammar we find luchóg, a rat (luch, a mouse). This example is a striking instance of the fact that the termination óg is losing (if it has not already lost) its diminutive force.

All derived nouns in óg are feminine.

Derived Nouns.

461. Words are of three classes—Simple, Derivative, and Compound. All simple words are, as a general rule, monosyllables; they are the roots from which derivative and compound words spring. Derivative words are made up of two or more parts. These parts undergo slight changes when they are united to form words, and thus the component parts are somewhat disguised. The difficulty which presents itself to a student in the spelling of Irish is more apparent than real. The principle of vowel-assimilation is the key to Irish spelling. Let a student once thoroughly grasp the rules for “caol le caol, &c,” “aspiration,” “eclipsis,” “attenuation,” and “syncope,” and immediately all difficulty vanishes.

Derivatives are formed of simple words and particles. The most important of the latter have been already given under the headings “Prefixes” and “Affixes.” We will here give some examples of derivative nouns, a careful study of which will enable the student to split up the longest words into their component parts, and thus arrive at their meanings.

462. trom means heavy; tromas, i.e., trom+as (the abstract termination) means heaviness or weight; éadtrom, light, from trom, and the negative particle éa, which eclipses c and t, hence the d; éadtromas, lightness, from éa, not; trom, heavy; as, ness; coṁṫrom, impartial, fair, or just; from coṁ, equal, and trom, heavy; coṁṫromas, impartiality, fairness, &c.; éagcoṁṫrom, partial, unjust; from éa+coṁ+trom; éagcoṁṫromas, partiality, injustice; from éa+coṁ+trom+as. Spealadóir, a reaper; from speal, a scythe, and dóir, an affix denoting an agent; the a is put in between the l and d to assist pronunciation: cáirde, friends; cáirdeas, friendliness, friendship; eugcáirdeas, unfriendliness, hostility: fearaṁlaċt, manliness; from fear + aṁail + aċt: neiṁ-ġeanaṁlaċt, unamiability; from neiṁ, not + gean, affection + aṁail + aċt: ríoġaċt, a kingdom, from ríoġ + aċt: comórtas, comparison, emulation, competition; from co (coṁ), equal, and mórtas, greatness, i.e., comparing the greatness of one thing with that of another.

463. Compound nouns are formed by the union of two or more simple nouns, or of a noun and an adjective.

(A.) A compound noun formed of two or more nouns, each in the nominative case, has its declension determined by the last noun. Its gender also is that of the last noun, unless the first noun-part be such as requires a different gender. The first word qualifies the second, and the initial consonant of the second is usually aspirated.

(B.) If the compound is formed of a noun in the nominative form followed by a genitive noun, the first is the principal noun, and determines the declension and gender; the second qualifies the first, and generally remains unaltered, and the aspiration of the initial consonant in this case depends on the gender of the first noun. See par. 21(f).

We will give here a few examples of the two chief kinds of compound nouns. It is usual to employ a hyphen between the nouns in Class A, but not in Class B.

breug-rí, a pseudo king		breug, a lie, and rí, a king
bun-sruṫ, a fountain		bun, a source, origin, and sruṫ, a stream
caṫ-ḃarr, a helmet		caṫ, a battle, and bárr, top, head
clap-ṡolas, twilight
cloig-ṫeaċ, a belfry		clog, a clock, bell, and teaċ, a house
craoḃ-ḟleasg, a garland		craoḃ, a branch, and fleasg, a wreath
cúl-ċaint, back-biting		cúl, the back of the head, and caint, talk
caoir-ḟeoil, mutton	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	feoil, flesh; caora, a sheep laoġ, a calf; muc, a pig mart, a beef
laoiġ-ḟeoil, veal
muic-ḟeoil, pork, bacon
mairt-ḟeoil, beef
láṁ-ḋia, a household god	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	láṁ, a hand; Dia, God; eudaċ, a cloth; órd, a sledge
láṁ-eudaċ, a handkerchief, a napkin
láṁ-órd, a hand-sledge
leiṫ-sgeul,[2] an excuse		leaṫ, a half, and sgeul, a story

ór-ṡlat, a sceptre; ór, gold; and slat, a rod

tír-ġráḋ, patriotism; tír, country; and gráḋ, love

brat taise, a winding-sheet (a garment of death).

fear ceoil, a musician (a man of music).

fear feasa, a seer (a man of knowledge; fios, gen. feasa).

fear tiġe, a householder (a man of a house).

mac tíre, a wolf (son of (the) country).

cú ṁara, an otter (a hound of the sea; muir, gen. mara).

laoġ mara, a seal (a calf of the sea).

fear ionaid, a lieutenant, vicegerent (a man of place).

teaċ ósta, an inn, hotel (a house of entertainment).

maiġistir scoile, a schoolmaster (a master of a school).

uḃ ċirce, a hen-egg (an egg of a hen.)

bean síḋe or bean t‑síḋe, a fairy (a woman of the síoḋ, a fairy hill).

árd-rí, a high king.

árd-tiġearna, a sovereign lord.

árd-réim, supreme power, chief power.

claon-ḃreiṫ, partiality; claon, inclined: and breiṫ, a judgment.

crom-leac, a druidical altar; crom, bent; and leac, a stone, flag.

daor-ḃreiṫ, condemnation; daor, condemned.

daor-ógláċ, a bond-slave; ógláċ, a servant.

dearḃráṫair (dearḃ-ḃráṫair), a brother by blood	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	dearḃ, real or true.
deirḃṡiúr, a sister by blood.		bráṫair and siúr, brother and sister (in religion).

fíor-uisge, spring water: fíor, true, pure; uisge, water.

gairḃ-ṡíon, a tempest: garḃ, rough; and síon, weather.

girr-ḟiaḋ, a hare: gearr, short; and fiaḋ, a deer.

nuaḋ-ḋuine, an upstart: nuaḋ, new, fresh; and duine, a person.

sean-aṫair, a grandfather,	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	sean, old; aṫair, a father. máṫair, a mother; aois, age. reaċt, law; dliġe is a more common word for law.
sean-sean-aṫair (sé-sean-aṫair), a great grandfather.
sean-ṁáṫair, a grandmother.
sean-aois, old age.
sean-reaċt, the old law.

treun-ḟear, a brave man.

treun-laoċ, a hero.

saor-ṡealḃ, a freehold: sealḃ, possession.

trom-luiġe, a nightmare.

uasal-aṫair, a patriarch.

saoiḃ-ċiall, folly, silliness: saoḃ, silly; and ciall, sense

fóir-ḃriaṫar, an adverb: fóir, before; and briaṫar, a word.

fóir-imeall, a frontier, extremity; imeall, a border, a hem.

fóir-ḃreiṫ, a prejudice (a fore-judgment).

fóir-neart, violence.

fóir-éigean, oppression, compulsion.

Formation of Adjectives.

467. (a) Adjectives may be formed from many nouns by the addition of AĊ or EAĊ, which signifies full of, abounding in. All these adjectives belong to the first declension, and are declined like díreaċ.

NOUN.	ADJECTIVE.
fearg, anger	feargaċ, angry
fuil, blood	fuilteaċ, bloody
feur, grass	feuraċ, grassy
buaiḋ, victory	buaḋaċ, victorious
breug, a lie	breugaċ, false, lying
diċeall, one’s best endeavour	díċeallaċ, energetic
seasaṁ, standing	seasṁaċ, steadfast
gnó, work	gnóṫaċ, busy
clú, fame	clúiteaċ, famous
saoṫar, toil	saoṫraċ, industrious
lúb, a loop	lúbaċ, deceitful
saoġal, life	saoġlaċ, long-lived
sáiṫ, sufficiency	sáṫaċ, satiated
Alba, Scotland	Albanaċ, Scotch
Sacsain, England	Sacsanaċ, English
craoḃ, branch	craoḃaċ, branchy
carraig, a rock	cairgeaċ, rocky
brón, sorrow	brónaċ, sorrowful
sal, dirt	salaċ, dirty
fios, knowledge	fiosaċ, intelligent
áṫas, joy	áṫasaċ, joyous
doilġíos, sorrow	doilġíosaċ, sorrowful
cleas, a trick	cleasaċ, tricky
tuirse, weariness	tuirseaċ, weary
uisge, water	uisgeaċ, watery
neul, a cloud	neulaċ, cloudy
leanḃ, a child	leanḃaċ, childish
gaoṫ, wind	gaoṫaċ, windy
imniḋe, anxiety	imniḋeaċ, anxious
cúṁaċt, power	cúṁaċtaċ, powerful
reult, a star	reultaċ, starry
aire, care	aireaċ, attentive
foiġid, patience	foiġideaċ, patient
eagla, fear	eaglaċ, timid
toil, a will	toilteanaċ, willing
cúram, heed	cúramaċ, careful
iomarca, too much	iomarcaċ, excessive, copious

(b). Many adjectives are formed by adding ṀAR to nouns.

All these adjectives belong to the first declension and are declined like mór.

NOUN.	ADJECTIVE.
áḋ, luck	áḋṁar, lucky.
ceol, music	ceolṁar, musical
ciall, sense	ciallṁar, sensible
feur, grass	feurṁar, grassy
feoil, flesh	feolṁar, fleshy
fonn, fancy	fonnṁar, desirous
glóir, glory	glórṁar, glorious
greann, fun	greannṁar, funny
luaċ, price, value	luaċṁar, valuable
líon, number	líonṁar, numerous
neart, strength	neartṁar, powerful
sgáṫ, a shadow	sgáṫṁar, shy, startled
lúṫ, activity	lúṫṁar, active, nimble

(c). Very many adjectives are formed from nouns by the addition of AṀAIL or EAṀAIL (both pronounced oo-il or u-wil). All these adjectives belong to the third declension.

NOUN.			ADJECTIVE.
fear, a man			fearaṁail, manly
bean, a woman			beanaṁail, womanly
flaiṫ, a prince			flaiṫeaṁail, generous
ainm, a name			ainmeaṁail, renowned
meas, esteem			measaṁail, estimable
lá (pl. laeṫe), a day			laeṫeaṁail, daily
gráin, hatred			gráineaṁail, hateful
cara (pl. cáirde), a friend			cáirdeaṁail, friendly
naṁa (pl. náiṁde), an enemy			náiṁdeaṁail, hostile
croiḋe, a heart			croiḋeaṁail, hearty, gay
rí (gen. ríoġ), a king			ríoġaṁail, kingly, royal
caoi (pl. caoiṫe), a way			caoiṫeaṁail, opportune
riar, order			riaraṁail, subject, docile, obedient
gean, affection			geanaṁail, affectionate
moḋ, manner			moḋaṁail, mannerly
tír (pl. tíorṫa), country			tíorṫaṁail, country-like, homely, social
meisneaċ,	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	courage	misneaṁail, courageous
misneaċ,
teine (pl. teinte), fire			teinteaṁail, fiery, igneous
sliaḃ, (pl. sléiḃte), a mountain			sléiḃteaṁail, mountainous
greann, fun			greannaṁail, funny, gay
eun, a bird			eunaṁail, bird-like, airy
coṁursa, a neighbour			coṁursaṁail, neighbourly
barántas, authority			barántaṁail, authentic

(d). There is a fourth class of adjectives formed by the termination DA (ḊA); but it is not as large as the three preceding classes. The following are some of the principal ones:—

diaḋa, godly, divine	daona (daonda) human
fearḋa, masculine	gránda, ugly
banda, feminine	cróḋa, brave
órḋa, golden, gilt	beoḋa, lively
laoċḋa, heroic	gallda, exotic or foreign
seanda, ancient	naoṁṫa (naoṁḋa), holy, saintly

Compound adjectives are extremely common in Irish, being usually formed by the union of two or more simple adjectives (sometimes of a noun and an adjective); but these compound adjectives present no difficulty once the simple adjectives have been mastered.

FORMATION OF VERBS.

468. Verbs can be readily formed from nouns and adjectives by the addition of IĠ or UIĠ. The addition of this termination is sometimes accompanied by syncope, which often necessitates slight vowel changes in accordance with the rule “caol le caol.”

NOUN.	VERB (Stem).
ainm, a name	ainmniġ, name
beaṫa, life	beaṫuiġ, nourish
cuiṁne, memory	cuiṁniġ, remember
cuid, a part	cuidiġ le, assist (take part with)
cúl, the back of the head	cúluiġ, retire
saoṫar, exertion	saoṫruiġ, exert
cuairt, a visit.	cuartuiġ, visit, search
leas, improvement	leasuiġ, improve
neart, strength	neartuiġ, strengthen
aċt, a decree	aċtuiġ, decree, enact
bás, death	básuiġ, put to death
caṫ, a battle	caṫuiġ, contend, fight
céim, a step	céimniġ, step, advance
críoċ, an end	críoċnuiġ, finish
criṫ, a trembling	criṫniġ, tremble
gorta, hunger, injury	gortuiġ, injure
iomad, multitude	iomaduiġ, multiply
órd, an order	órduiġ, order, command
solus, a light	soillsiġ, enlighten
tus (tos), a beginning	tosuiġ, begin
treoir, a guide	treoruiġ, guide, lead
pian, pain	pianuiġ, cause pain
obair, work	oibriġ, work

ADJECTIVE.	VERB (Stem).
árd, high	árduiġ, raise
bán, white	bánuiġ, whiten
duḃ, black	duḃuiġ, blacken
boḋar, deaf	boḋruiġ deafen, bother
buan, lasting	buanuiġ preserve
follus, apparent	foillsiġ, reveal, show
fuar, cold	fuaruiġ, cool, chill
lag, weak	laguiġ, weaken
slán, well	slánuiġ, make well, cure
tirim, dry	tiormuiġ, or trimiġ, dry
boċt, poor	boċtuiġ, impoverish
ceart, right	ceartuiġ, correct
mín, fine	míniġ, make fine, explain
ísiol, low	ísliġ, lower
uṁal, humble	uṁluiġ, humble
saiḋḃir, rich	saiḋḃriġ, enrich

The compound verbs are very few, and are therefore of little consequence to the beginner.

---

Notes

1. dí, dío eclipse words beginning with b or f, díombuiḋeaċas, ingratitude.
2. gaḃ mo leiṫ-sgeul I beg your pardon. (Lit. Accept my excuse).