Colin Mark. The Gaelic-English Dictionary/Гэльско-английский словарь

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Appendix 2: the Gaelic noun 642

It should also be noted that the e augment is frequently omitted in nouns of more than one

syllable, particularly when the noun is indeﬁnite. For example, uinneige ‘of a window’ is

usually written and spoken as uinneig.

2.3.2 As with Type 1 nouns, some nouns of this type show variation in the formation of

the genitive plural

Nouns ending in –ag consistently have their genitive in the same form as the nominative

plural (lenited, where possible, in the indeﬁnite noun). Variations occur in some other

nouns of this type, though not always consistently. The presence of an adjective also causes

variation in these nouns (see craobh in the main body of dictionary).

2.4 Type 2(b) feminines only

eaglais f. church

Singular Plural

nom eaglais a church eaglaisean churches

gen eaglaise of a church eaglaisean of churches

dat (air) eaglais (on) a church (air) eaglaisean (on) churches

a ⫹ I làmh làimhe hand uncommon

a ⫹ I slat slaite rod very common

a ⫹ I cas coise foot rare

ea ⫹ I creag creige rock very common

ea ⫹ I cearc circe hen very common

ia ⫹ I grian grèine sun low but very

consistent

ua ⫹ I tuagh tuaighe axe low but very

consistent

o ⫹ I pòg pòige kiss quite rare

o ⫹ I long luinge ship rare

ao ⫹ I gaoth gaoithe wind rare

io ⫹ I crìoch crìche end very rare

eu ⫹ I breug brèige lie quite rare

Odd nouns: ﬁdheall fìdhle ﬁddle meur meòir ﬁnger

glùn glùine knee muc muice pig

Vowel No Vowel Change Vowel Change Comments on

Combination Incidence

Figure 2 Table of vowel changes in Type 2(a) nouns.

Type 2(b) nouns are all feminine. Unlike Type 2(a) nouns, they have a slender ﬁnal vowel,

and suffer no change with the introduction of i. The e augment is still added, however, with

the exceptions as noted above. There is also, of course, no change in the dative case, and the

plural cases, in accordance with the spelling rule*, have the termination -ean. Note also that,

in common with most nouns having a plural form with -ean, the genitive plural is the same

as the nominative plural. This would normally be lenited where possible, as in all nouns.

*See the section Spelling and Pronunciation.

2.5 Type 2(c) masculines only

taigh m. house

Singular Plural

nom taigh a house taighean houses

gen taighe of a house thaighean of houses

dat (ann an) taigh (in) a house (ann an) taighean (in) houses

Type 2(c) nouns are all masculine, but behave in all respects like Type 2(b) nouns, except

of course, with regard to the deﬁnite article. These nouns are the only masculine nouns to

take the e augment and are very limited in number.

2.6 Type 2(d) masculines with ﬁnal slender vowel, and feminines ending with -e

2.6.1 Masculines with a slender ﬁnal vowel

cìobair m. shepherd

Singular Plural

nom cìobair a shepherd cìobairean shepherds

gen cìobair of a shepherd chìobairean of shepherds

dat (ri) cìobair (to) a shepherd (ri) cìobairean (to) shepherds

2.6.2 Feminines with ﬁnal e

slige f. shell

Singular Plural

nom slige a shell sligean shells

gen slige of a shell shligean of shells

dat (ann an) slige (in) a shell (ann an) sligean (in) shells

Type 2(d) nouns may be masculine or feminine. They are characterised by any slender ﬁnal

vowel in masculine nouns, and a ﬁnal e in feminine nouns. In all respects they behave like

Type 2(b) orType 2(c) nouns but, of course, cannot show any change in the genitive sin-

gular with regard to masculine or feminine nouns, or show a change in the dative singular

with regard to feminine nouns.

2.7 Type 2(e) masculine and feminine nouns ending in -chd

cumhachd f. power

Singular Plural

nom cumhachd (a) power cumhachdan powers

gen cumhachd of (a) power chumhachdan of powers

dat

(le) cumhachd (by) (a) power (le) cumhachdan (by) powers

Type 2(e) may be masculine or feminine nouns ending in -chd. A very many abstract fem-

inine nouns ending in achd such as cumhachd ‘power’ belong to this group. There is no

change in any of the singular cases, and the plural simply adds an, with the genitive plural

being the same as the nominative plural lenited.

643 Appendix 2: the Gaelic noun

2.8 Type 3 masculine and feminine nouns ending in a broad vowel (a, o or u)

balla m. a wall

Singular Plural

nom balla a wall ballachan walls

gen balla of a wall bhallachan of walls

dat (air) balla (on) a wall (air) ballachan (on) walls

Type 3 may be masculine or feminine. They are characterised by ending in a broad ﬁnal

vowel. There is no change in any of the cases in the singular, and the plural adds an to the

nominative singular, with ch, th or nn inserted before the an. For example, balla gives bal-

lachan as shown, while teanga ‘tongue’ gives teangannan and cnò ‘nut’ gives cnòthan.

2.9 Type 4(a) mostly feminine

sùil f. an eye

Singular Plural

nom sùil an eye sùilean eyes

gen sùla of an eye shùl (or shùilean) of eyes

dat (ann an) sùil (in) an eye (ann an) sùilean (in) eyes

Type 4(a) nouns are mostly feminine. A characteristic of these nouns is that though the

nominative singular has a slender ﬁnal vowel, this is broadened in the genitive. That is

almost all the nouns of this small group have in common, as in some instances the nomi-

native and dative plurals have an ean ending, as with sùilean, while in others the ending

may be an or annan. Likewise, in some instances the genitive plural may be like the

nominative plural lenited or may have a single broad vowel as with shùl.

2.10 Type 4(b) masculines and feminines

guth m. a voice

Singular Plural

nom guth a voice guthan voices

gen gutha of a voice ghuthan of voices

dat (le) gutha (by) a voice (le) guthan (by) voices

Type 4(b) nouns may be either masculine or feminine, and tend to be rather more regular

than many of the nouns so far studied. The main characteristic of these nouns is that they

have a single broad vowel or vowel group and end in a consonant. The genitive singular is

formed by adding an a augment. The plural is normally formed by adding

an or annan to

the nominative singular but variants do occur. The genitive plural is like the nominative

plural lenited.

Type 5 nouns all have a consonantal augment in the genitive case. These are divided

below into four distinct types:

2.11 Type 5(a) feminine nouns only

cathair f. a chair

Singular Plural

nom cathair a chair cathraichean chairs

gen cathrach of a chair chathraichean of chairs

dat (air) cathair (on) a chair (air) cathraichean (on) chairs

Type 5(a) nouns are all feminine. The main feature of this type is that the nominative sin-

gular, which has a slender ﬁnal vowel, either drops or modiﬁes that vowel and adds ach or

each according to the spelling rule*. The plural is usually formed by adding ean to the ach

ending which has been slenderised to aich.

*See the section Spelling and Pronunciation.

Appendix 2: the Gaelic noun 644

645 Appendix 2: the Gaelic noun

2.12 Type 5(b) “kinship” nouns

athair a father

Singular Plural

nom athair a father athraichean fathers

gen athar of a father athraichean of fathers

dat (ri) athair (to) a father (ri) athaichean (to) fathers

Type 5(b) are usually referred to as the ‘kinship’ nouns as the group contains only the nouns

athair father màthair mother piuthar sister bràthair brother seanair grandfather and

seanmhair grandmother. The last two are derived from sean athair and sean mhàthair

‘old father’ and ‘old mother’ respectively.

They are declined in a very similar manner to those in Type 5(a), the main difference

being that the genitive singular simply broadens the ﬁnal vowel. Some of the plurals vary

slightly. Piuthar has some marked differences from the rest.

2.13 Type 5(c) nouns which add nn

guala nf * shoulder

Singular Plural

nom guala / gualainn* a shoulder guailnean shoulders

gen gualainn / guailne of a shoulder ghuailnean of shoulders

dat (air) gualainn (on) a shoulder (air) guailnean (on) shoulders

Type 5(c) nouns sufﬁx an nn in the genitive case. These are few in number, the most com-

mon being àra kidney, brà quern, gobha smith talamh earth, brù belly, Alba Scotland

and dìle ﬂood.

*Now more usually gualainn

2.14 Type 5(d) nouns which add ad

tràigh f. beach

Singular Plural

nom tràigh a beach tràighean beaches

gen tràghad of a beach thràighean of beaches

dat (air) tràigh on a beach (air) tràighean

on beaches

Type 5(d) nouns are even more uncommon than Type 5(b). They include only bràigh neck,

brae and the word teanga tongue which is often classed along with it though the ﬁnal d is

lenited i.e teangaidh (both gen and dat singular) e.g. air bàrr mo theangaidh ‘on the tip

of my tongue’. However, teanga is now often not declined in the singular. Bràigh is now

more often used with the meaning ‘upper end’ as in bràigh a’ ghlinne ‘the top of the glen’

and bràigh na staidhre ‘the top (landing) of the stairs’. The gen sing bràghad also occurs

as a nom masc noun meaning ‘neck’ and may be seen in the place name Bràghad Albann

‘Breadalbane’.

2.15 Irregular nouns

In addition to the foregoing, there is a small number of irregular nouns which are in com-

mon use. These are shown in full below.

cù m. dog

Singular Plural

cù a dog coin dogs

coin of a dog chon of dogs

(le) cù (with) a dog (le) coin (with) dogs

Appendix 2: the Gaelic noun 646

sgian f. knife

Singular Plural

sgian a knife sgeanan knives

sgeine of a knife sgeanan of knives

(le) sgithinn (with) a knife (le) sgeanan (with) knives

bò f. cow

Singular Plural

bò cow bà cows

bà cow bhò cows

(le) boin (by) a cow (le) bà (by) cows

beinn f. mountain

Singular Plural

beinn a mountain beanntan mountains

beinne of a mountain bheann (or bheantan) of mountains

(air) beinn (on) a mountain (air) beanntan (on) mountains

deoch f. drink

Singular Plural

deoch a drink deochan(nan) drinks

dighe / dibhe of a drink dheochan(nan) of drinks

(le) deoch with a drink (le) deochan(nan) with drinks

caora f. sheep

Singular Plural

caora a sheep caoraich sheep

caorach of a sheep chaorach of sheep

(le) caora with a sheep (le) caoraich with sheep

3.0 Compound nouns

Compound nouns are to be found in a number of forms, some behaving quite differently

from others.

They fall into two broad categories.

3.1. Those in which the ﬁrst element modiﬁes the second

3.1.1 A very common form, and one of the simplest to handle, is the preﬁxed noun

The ﬁrst element modiﬁes the second, which is declined normally, and which gives the

compound its gender. The second element may or may not be lenited depending on the pre-

ﬁx. The ﬁrst element is affected by the deﬁnite article, possessive adjectives etc.

Examples:

ath-nuadhachadh nm renewal ana-cainnt nf abuse (verbal)

nom an t-ath-nuadhachadh the renewal an ana-cainnt the abuse

gen an ath-nuadhachaidh of the renewal na h-ana-cainnte of the abuse

dat (tron) ath-nuadhachadh (through) the leis an ana-cainnt (because) of

renewal the abuse

Examples of usage:

Ach dè tha ag adhbharachadh an ath-nuadhachaidh seo?

But what is causing this renewal?

Bu chòir dhuinne ar co-chreutairean a chuideachadh.

We should help our fellow creatures.

Chuir a’ mhì-thaingealachd seo iongnadh orm.

This ingratitude surprised me.

Cha b’ fhada gus an robh an t-ath-sgrìobhadh deiseil.

It wasn’t long until the transcript was ready.

Bha iad uile trang a’ sgrùdadh an ath-sgrìobhaidh

They were all busy examining the transcript.

3.1.2 Very similar to the above is the compound in which an adjective

precedes a noun

The ﬁrst element modiﬁes the second, does not itself decline, but is affected by the

deﬁnite article, possessive adjectives etc. The second element is lenited where possible,

is declined normally, and gives the compound its gender.

Examples:

àrd-mhanach nm prior

nom an t- àrd-mhanach the prior na h- àrd-mhanaich the priors

gen an àrd-mhanaich of the prior nan àrd-mhanach of the priors

dat (ris) an àrd-mhanach (to) the prior (ris) na h-àrd-mhanaich (to) the priors

caol-shràid nf lane

nom a’ chaol-shràid the street na caol-shràidean the streets

gen na caol-shràide of the street nan caol-shràidean of the streets

dat (anns) a’ chaol-shràid in the street (anns) na caol-shràidean in the streets

claon-bhreith nf bias, prejudice deagh-ghean nf goodwill

beò-ghainmheach nf quicksand dubh-fhacal nm paradox, puzzle

mòr-choille nf forest dian-chabhag haste, urgency

Examples of usage:

Chunnaic mi an t- àrd-mhanach an-dè.

I saw the prior yesterday.

Fhuair mi an leabhar seo na laighe anns a’ chaol-shràid.

I found this book lying in the lane.

Bha iad air chall anns a’ mhòr-choille.

They were lost in the forest.

3.1.3 Compound nouns composed of two nouns, in which the ﬁrst noun describes the

second, behave in exactly the same way as those in Section 2 above

Examples:

leabhar -chùnntas nm book-keeping bun-sgoil nf primary school

bròn-chluich nf tragedy (play) cuairt-shlugan nm whirlpool

inntinn-eòlaiche nm psychologist gnùis-bhrat nm veil

Examples of usage:

Tha e anns a’ bhun-sgoil.

He’s in the primary school. (i.e. he’s attending it)

Thomhais i fad a’ ghnùis-bhrait.

She measured the length of the veil.

Bha sinn a’ leughadh na bròn-chluiche sin an-uiridh.

We were reading that tragedy last year.

3.1.4 A much less common type has a noun in the genitive case preceding a noun in the

nominative case. Again, these behave as in Section 2 above. If the ﬁrst noun is

feminine, it loses its e increase

Examples:

coin-bhile nf dogwood cois-cheum nf step, path

coin-fhiacail nf canine tooth cois-shluagh nf infantry

647 Appendix 2: the Gaelic noun

Appendix 2: the Gaelic noun 648

It should be noted that laoigh-fheòil veal, mairt-fheòìl beef, muic-fheòìl pork and muilt-

fheòìl mutton, which really belong to this group, are now written as laoighfheòil,

mairtfheòìl, muicfheòìl and muiltfheòìl respectively.

Examples of usage:

Bha e a’ sguabadh a’ chois-cheum.

He was sweeping the path.

3.2 Those in which the second element modiﬁes the ﬁrst

3.2.1 Compound nouns in which the second element is an adjective. These cause no

difﬁculty as the compound declines like any normal noun-adjective group

Examples:

coileach-dubh nm a blackcock

coileach-dubh a blackcock coilich-dhubha blackcocks

coilich-dhuibh of a blackcock choileach-dubha of blackcocks

(air) coileach- (on) a blackcock (air) coilich- (on) blackcocks

dubh dhubha

an coileach-dubh nm the blackcock

an coileach-dubh the blackcock na coilich-dhubha the blackcocks

a’ choilich-dhuibh of the blackcock nan coileach-dubha of the blackcocks

(air) a’ choileach- (on) the (air) na coilich- (on) the

dhubh blackcock dhubha blackcocks

feannag-ghlas nf a hoodie crow

feannag-ghlas a hoodie crow feannagan-glasa hoodie crows

feannaig-glaise of a hoodie crow fheannagan-glasa of hoodie crows

(air) feannaig- (on) a hoodie crow (air) feannagan- (on) hoodie crows

ghlais glasa

an fheannag-ghlas nf the hoodie crow

an fheannag-ghlas the hoodie crow na feannagan-glasa the h. crows

na feannaig-glaise of the h. crow nam feannagan-glasa of the h. crows

(air) an fheannaig- (on) the h. crow (air) na feannagan- (on) the h.

ghlais glasa crows

Other examples:

bràthair-bochd nm friar cas-chrom nf foot-plough

breac-feusagach nm barbel

duilleag-bhàite nf water-lily

cluaran-deilgneach nm spear thistle lèabag-mhòr nf plaice

Examples of usage:

Tha e a’ sgrùdadh cleachdaidhean a’ coilich-dhuibh

He is studying the habits of the blackcock.

Fhuair sinn nead na feannaig-glaise.

We found the hoodie crow’s nest.

3.2.2 Compound nouns in which both elements are nouns. The second noun is always

in the genitive case. If it is in the genitive plural it is always lenited where

possible, but if it is in the genitive singular it is lenited like any adjective

accompanying a noun. The ﬁrst noun declines regularly, but

usually drops any -e increase

taigh-solais nm lighthouse

taigh-solais a lighthouse taighean-solais lighthouses

taigh-solais of a lighthouse thaighean-solais of lighthouses

(air) taigh-solais (on) a lighthouse (air) taighean-solais (on) lighthouses

an taigh-solais nm the lighthouse

an taigh-solais the lighthouse na taighean-solais the lighthouses

an taigh-solais of the lighthouse nan taighean-solais of the lighthouses

(air) an taigh- (on) the lighthouse (air) na taighean- (on) the lighthouses

sholais solais

cearc-fhraoich nf a moorhen

cearc-fhraoich a moor-hen cearcan-fraoich moor-hens

circ(e)-fraoich of a moor-hen chearcan-fraoich of moor-hens

(air) circ-fhraoich (on) a moor-hen (air) cearcan-fraoich (on) moor-hens

a’ chearc-fhraoich nf the moorhen

a’ chearc-fhraoich the moor-hen na cearcan-fraoich the moor-hens

na circ(e)-fraoich of the moor-hen nan cearcan-fraoich of the moor-hens

(air) a’ chirc- (on) the (air) na cearcan- (on) the

fhraoich moor-hen fraoich moor-hens

taigh-chearc nm hen-house (where chearc is gen pl)

taigh-chearc a henhouse taighean-chearc henhouses

taigh-chearc of a henhouse taighean-chearc of henhouses

(air) taigh- (on) a henhouse (air) taighean- (on) henhouses

chearc chearc

an taigh-chearc nm the hen-house

an taigh-chearc the henhouse na taighean-chearc the henhouses

an taigh-chearc of the henhouse nan taighean-chearc of the henhouses

(air) an taigh- (on) the henhouse (air) na taighean- (on) the henhouses

chearc chearc

Further Examples:

baga-guailne nm shoulder bag bean-ghlanaidh nf cleaning woman

bioran-fuilt nm hairpin clach-ghainmhich nf sandstone

caisteal-gainmhich nm

sandcastle crith-thalmhainn nf earthquake

Examples of usage:

Bha an tuil cho millteach ris a’ chrith-thalmhainn.

The ﬂood was as destructive as the earthquake.

Tha crithean-talmhainn gu math cumanta anns an t-Seapan.

Earthquakes are quite common in Japan.

3.3. Other types of compound noun

Other apparent compounds are simply a governing noun with one or more dependent nouns

connected by hyphens. Often at least one of the nouns is modiﬁed. These are subject to the

rules governing such noun groups.

These groups are largely (though not exclusively) used in the nomenclature of animals

and plants.

Examples:

bean-na bainnse the bride dallag-an-fhraoich shrew (animal)

lus-a’ bhainne milkwort luibh-a’-chait cudweed

breac-an-t-sìl pied wagtail cas-na-tunnaig wild mustard, charlock

Some more elaborate examples:

lus-leth-an-t-samhraidh wallﬂower

lus-teang-an-daimh small bugloss

649 Appendix 2: the Gaelic noun

creamh-na-muice-ﬁadhaich asparagus, hart’s tongue

meas-an-tuirc-allta marsh St. John’s wort

cnàimh-caol na lurgann ﬁbula

eun-dubh-an-sgadain black guillemot

lus-nam-braoileag red whortleberry

creithleag-nan-each horseﬂy

lili-nan-lòn lily of the valley

lus-nan-gràn-dubh alexanders (a ﬂower)

ﬁgheadair-nan-casa-fada daddy-long-legs

crotal-nam-madadh-ruadh club moss

Examples of usage:

Bha bean-na-bainnse a’ smèideadh ri fear-na-bainnse.

The bride was waving to the groom.

Bidh lus-a’ bhainne ag itheadh chuileagan.

The milkwort eats ﬂies.

Bha e air cnàimh-caol a lurgann a bhriseadh.

He had broken his ﬁbula. (Lit. [the] thin bone of his shank)

Bha a’ chlann a’ ruith ﬁgheadairean-nan-casa-fada.

The children were chasing (the) daddy-long-legs.

4.0 The deﬁnite article

The base form of the deﬁnite article is an. This form, however, varies according to the

gender, case, number and the initial letter of the accompanying noun. The following

table shows all the possible forms before vowels and various classes of consonants in both

masculine and feminine nouns.

4.1 Masculine

a) Vowels: a, e, i, o, u

Appendix 2: the Gaelic noun 650

an t-each the horse an eich don each air an each na h-eich nan each

Singular Plural

Nom Gen Dat Nom & Dat Gen

an cat the cat a’ chait don chat air a’chat na cait nan cat

an gille the lad a’ ghille don ghille air a’ ghille na gillean nan gillean

Singular Plural

Nom Gen Dat Nom & Dat Gen

b) Gutturals: c, g

651 Appendix 2: the Gaelic noun

an duine the man an duine don duine aig an duine na daoine nan daoine

an toll the hole an tuill don toll anns an toll na tuill nan toll

an laogh the calf an laoigh don laogh air an laogh na laoigh nan laogh

an nead the nest an nid don nead anns an nead na nid nan nead

an ràmh the oar an ràimh don ràmh air an ràmh na ràmhan nan ràmh

Singular Plural

Nom Gen Dat Nom & Dat Gen

am bàrd the poet a’ bhàird don bhàrd aig a’ bhàrd na bàird nam bàrd

am mart the cow a’ mhairt don mhart aig a’ mhart na mairt nam mart

am peann the pen a’ phinn don pheann air a’ pheann na pinn nam peann

Singular Plural

Nom Gen Dat Nom & Dat Gen

am fear the man an fhir don fhear aig an fhear na ﬁr nam fear

Singular Plural

Nom Gen Dat Nom & Dat Gen

an saor the joiner an t-saoir don t-saor aig an t-saor na saoir nan saor

an sloc the pit an t-sluic don t-sloc anns an t-sloc na sluic nan sloc

an snàth the thread an t-snàtha don t-snàth aig an t-snàth na snàthan nan snàthan

an sruth the stream an t-srutha don t-sruth aig an t-sruth na sruthan nan sruthan

Singular Plural

Nom Gen Dat Nom & Dat Gen

c) Dentals and liquids: d, t, l, n, r

d) Labials: b, p, m

e) f

f) s followed by a vowel or by a liquid sa, se, si, so, su, sl, sn, sr