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A CONCISE OLD IRISH
GRAMMAR AND READER
BY
JULIUS POKORNY, Ph.D., LL.D. (Vienna)
PART I: GRAMMAR
HALLE a. S.
MAX NIEMEYER
DUBLIN §, f
HODGES, FIGGIS AND CO., LTD.
1914
%tf
A CONCISE OLD IRISH
GRAMMAR AND READER
BY
JULIUS POKORNY, Ph.D., LL.D. (Vienna)
PART I: GRAMMAR
HALLE a. S.
MAX NIEMEYER
DUBLIN
HODGES, FIGGIS AND CO., LTD.
1914
ERNST WINDISCH
ZUM SIEBZIGSTEN GEBURTSTAGE
CONTENTS
Preface ....... page 1
List of Abbreviations . . . . „ 3
(The numbers refer to the paragraphs.)
A. ORTHOGRAPHY ..... 1
B. PHONOLOGY . . . 2-131
Sounds ....... 2-4
Aspiration . . . . . . .5-19
Eclipsis ....... 20-33
Doubling of Initial Consonants .... 34
Quality of Consonants . . . . . 35
Glide-Vowels 36-41
Old Final Syllables 42-46
Influence of Lost Vowels in Final Syllables on the Preceding
Consonants ...... 47-49
Development of Secondary Vowels after the Loss of Final
Syllables 5a
Stress ........ 51-53
Working of the Accent in Stressed Syllables ... 54
Working of the 'Accent in Enclitic Syllables . . 55-58(-76)
Syncope, 55. Shortening of Long Vowels, 56. Quality of
unstressed non-final Vowels, 57-58.
Development of Secondary Vowels in Syncopated Syllables . 59
Quality of Final Consonants preceded by an Epenthetic
Vowel 60
Bounded Quality of Consonants in Enclitic Syllables . . 61-64
Depalatalisation of Consonants in Enclitic Syllables . . 65
Quality of Consonants in Syncopated Syllables, which have
developed an Epenthetic Vowel before them . . 66-71
Voicing of Spirants in Unstressed Syllables . . . 72-74
Unvoicing of Final Aspirated g . . . 75
De-aspiration of Final Consonants .... 76
vi A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Working of the Accent in Proclitic Syllables
Changes in Consonant-Groups resulting from Syncope
De-aspiration, 84. Voicing of Consonants, 85. Unvoicing
of Consonants, 86. Assimilation, 87. Influence of
aspirated s, 88.
Unvoicing of Initial Aspirated b
Double Consonants
Genealogical History of Old Consonants and Consonant-Group.
not resulting from Syncope
Sonants ....
Compensatory Lengthening of Vowels
Haplology ....
Semi- Vowels .
Vowels and Diphthongs
Short Vowels, 113-117.
Diphthongs, 121-122.
Vowel-Contraction
/. E. Voicel-Gradation
77-83
84-88
Long Vowels, 118-120. Short
Long Diphthongs, 123-124.
89
90
91-104
105-106
107-109
110
111-112
113-124
125-126
127-131
C. ACCIDENCE ...... 132-212
The Definite Article . . . . . .132
The Noun ....... 133-148
The Adjective ...... 149-155
Declension, 149-153. Comparison, 154. Adverbs, 155.
Numerals ....... 156-157
Pronouns and Adjectives connected therewith . . 158-172
Personal Pronouns ...... 158-160
Independent Pronouns, 158. Infixed Pronouns, 159.
Suffixed Pronouns, 160.
Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives . . . . . 161-162
Interrogative Pronouns and Adjectives . . . 163-164
Interrogative Particles . . . . .165
Relative Pronouns . . . . , .166
Emphatic Particles . . . . . .167
Demonstrative Pronouns and Adjectives . . . 168
Definitive Pronouns and Adjectives . . . .169
Indefinitivc Pronouns and Adjectives . . . 170-171
CONTENTS vii
Adverbs of Place . . . . . . 172
The Verb ....... 173-210
General remarks . . . . . . 173
Preverbal particles . . . . . . 174
On the Formation of the Moods and Tenses ... . 175-181
Hiatus verbs, 181.
Use of the Subjunctive Mood . . . . . 182
Paradigm of Weak Verbs ..... 183-202
scaraimm, Ucimm, suidigur.
Paradigm of Radical Verbs ..... 203-207
melid {berid), 203. canid, 204. guidid, 205. renaid, 20C.
gainithir, 207.
The Substantive Verb ..... 208
The Copula ....... 209
Miscellaneous Paradigms of Radical and Irregular Verbs . 210
ad-ci, ad-fet, aingid, benaid, berid, bongid, con-ice, -cuirethar,
do-beir, do-gni, do-icc, do-te(i)t, do-tuit, fo-ceird, fo-gaib,
midithir, ro-cluinethar, ro-fitir, saigid, text, tongid.
The Preposition . . . . . .211-212
Preverbal and Simple Prepositions, 211. Compound Pre-
positions, 212.
PREFACE
This little book has been written in order to serve as an easy
introduction to the scientific study of Old Irish. There is need
for such a book ; for the Manuals of Strachan and Thurneysen,
excellent as they are, are not very well suited for beginners.
Though the Old Irish literary remains that have been pre-
served in contemporary MSS. consist almost exclusively of
Glosses and Scholia, a great number of fine stories and poems,
going back to Old Irish times, have been preserved in later
MSS., often corrupt and modernised by the mediaeval scribes,
but not so much changed that it would not be possible to
restore the original text with some certainty.
In the Reader I have endeavoured to give representative
examples of the chief literary subjects : saga, religion, law —
both in prose and poetry — and some also of the more interest-
ing glosses. The critical Old Irish texts are accompanied by
full notes with constant references to the respective paragraphs
of the grammar. For the use of beginners who have not the
assistance of a teacher, a short text with a copious and
elaborate commentary has been included.
The grammar is built up in accordance with the strictest
scientific principles, though with regard to the arrangement of the
paragraphs the practical point of view has been considered in the
first instance. It is quite evident that this part especially of the
book must be deeply indebted to the grammars of Thurneysen
and Pedersen. Strachan's publications also have been of great
value to me, and some rules have been literally taken over
from his Selections from the Old Irish Glosses. But that
A
2 OLD IRISH GRAMMAR AND READER
my grammar is no mere extract from the works of my prede-
cessors and that I have made my own way, where necessary,
will become apparent in considering e.g. the chapter on the
difficult problems of palatalisation.
I wish to state here my deep indebtedness to the kindness
of Professor Kuno Meyer, who kindly read the proofs and assisted
me in the most liberal way by frequent gifts of books and
pamphlets.
But my chief thanks are due to the ' Gesellschaft fur
Forderung deutscher Wissenschaft, Kunst und Literatur in
Bohmen,' whose most generous financial assistance enabled me
to revisit Ireland and Wales in order to complete my dialectal
studies and to collect new material for further publications.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ace. = accusative.
act. = active.
adj. = adjective.
adv. = adverb.
arch. = archaic.
art. = article.
cf . = compare.
compar. = comparative.
conj. = conjunction.
cpd. = compound.
dat. = dative.
dep. = deponent.
der. — derived.
e.g. = for instance.
encl. = enclitic.
f. = feminine.
Fel. = Felire Oengusso
century).
fr. = from.
fut. = future.
gen. = genitive.
gl. = gloss or glosses.
Got. = Gothic.
i.e. = that is.
I.E. = Indo-European.
impf. = imperfect.
ind. = indicative.
inf. = infinitive.
infix. = infixed.
ipv. = imperative.
Lat. = Latin.
leg. = read.
lit. = literally.
(early 9th
Lith. = Lithuanian.
m. = masculine.
Mid. I. = Middle Irish.
Ml. = Milan Glosses (early 9th cent.).
Mod. I. = Modern Irish.
n. = neuter.
neg. = negative.
nom. = nominative.
0. C. = Old Celtic.
0. Ir. = Old Irish.
p. = page.
part. = participle.
part. nee. = participle of necessity.
pass. = passive.
perf. = perfect.
pi. = plural.
poss. = possessive.
Pr. Ir. = Prehistoric Irish (5th cent.).
prep. = preposition.
pres. = present.
procl. = proclitic.
pron. = pronoun.
rel. = relative.
s. = see.
sec. = secondary.
Sg. = St. Gall Glosses (middle of 9th
"century ; partly copied from other
sources).
sg. = singular.
Skr. = Sanskrit.
st. = stem.
subj.= subjunctive.
suff. = suffixed.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Tur. = Turin glosses (early 9th cent.).
verb = verbal.
voc. = vocative.
"Wb. = Wurzburg glosses (2nd half of
8th century).
/ e.g. b6 is used as mark of length in
Old Irish words. (Written over
I.E. consonants it denotes palatal
quality.)
\ e.g. dobcir denotes the accented
syllable.
1 e.g. ar n indicates that the word
eclipses a following consonant which
is capable of eclipse.
■ e.g. -tabair signifies that a proclitic
preverb (§ 53, note 2), has been left
out before the respective verbal
form.
*■ e.g. *viros denotes reconstructed or
postulated forms.
> = I.E. sh'iva (see p. 45 footnote.)
[Only the chief rules and exceptions are given in the following grammar ;
less important matter will be discussed in the notes.]
A— ORTHOGRAPHY
§ 1. As the orthography varies at different periods, most of
the orthographical peculiarities will be explained in the notes
to the respective texts.
Here I shall only remark that
1. In the interior of a word, or in final position, the voiced stops
b, d, g are represented by p, t, c (or bb, del, gg) regularly after
vowels and occasionally after consonants :
e.g. epir ' say,' art (also ardd, ard) ' high/ ecen ' necessity.'
2. The voiced stop g, if preceded by r or I, appears sometimes as cc :
e.g. moircc (Wb) ' woe ! '
3. The voiced stop g (sporadically also 6, d) resulting from
the assimilation of a consonant group may be written cc (also
pp, tt) after a vowel, but mostly only in intervocalic position.
e.g. condc(c)ab ( = con-ad-gab) 'he kept/ appriscc ( = ad-
brisc) ' brittle.'
4. The voiceless stop c is often represented by cc, mostly after
vowels, but occasionally also after consonants.
Also the voiceless stop t in analogous positions may be represented
by tt, but this doubling is much less common. The doubling of p
occurs only sporadically.
e.g. -died (I.E. *ad-k v is-et) ' he sees,' airdircc (*pre-derfci-)
' conspicuous,' attach (*ad-tekom) ' praying,' corpp (fr.
Lat.) ' body.'
Note. — For the explanation of these orthographical peculiarities,
see § 90. It cannot be doubted, however, that double
consonants are often written on]y in order to show that
the respective consonant was not aspirated (§ 5).
5. Words beginning with a vowel take often a (merely graphic)
h before them.
e.g. (h)umae (fr. *omijo-) ' brass.'
It is doubtful whether such a h can have represented in some
instances an actual pronunciation.
e.g. in (h)uisse (fr. *justijo-) 'fitting,' or (h)il (fr. *pelu) 'much.'
5
A CONCISE OLD IEISH GRAMMAR
B.-PHONOLOGY
§ 2 Phonetic Table of Irish Consonants
For the different
qualities of the
consonants, and
the difference be-
tween aspirated
and unaspirated
n, I, r, see §§ 7,
35.
Name
Dentals, .
Stops
Spirants
Liquids
Voiceless
Voiced
Voiceless
Voiced
Nasal
I
r
t
d
th, s
aspirated
d
n
Gutturals,
c
9
ch
aspirated
9
n before
9
Labials, .
P
b
f(ph)
aspirated m
aspirated
b
m
Breathing,!
h
§ 3. As already in the O. Ir. period the orthography is to some
extent historical, the spoken sounds, as given in the preceding
phonetic table, are not always identical with their orthographical
representatives.
e.g. the voiced spirant d in peccad ' sin ' may be represented
also by th (peccath), though final unaccented th had
become voiced throughout.
§ 4. Table of Irish Vowels. (For the glide-vowels s. §§ 36-41.)
There are 5 short vowels, a, e, i, o, u.
„ 5 long vowels, d, e, i, 6, u.
and 8 diphthongs, ai (tie), oi {6c), ui, du, eu {do), in,
ia, ua. 1
Following Thurneysen, I write ai, oi, ui, in order to distinguish
these diphthongs from long d, 6, ii, followed by a palatal glide.
Aspiration
§ 5. Every consonant can be aspirated (or lenited).
Aspiration (lenition) takes place between vowels and in some
other postvocalic positions in the interior of a word.
e.g. cath ' battle ' fr. *fcatus, arathar ' plough ' fr. *ardtrom.
1 On the diphthongs ia, ua with short i and u, which occur only in proclitic
words, see § 126 and § 81, exception 1.
PHONOLOGY 7
§ 6. Forms ending formerly in a vowel aspirate the initial
consonant of a closely connected following word.
§ 7. The stops b, d, g,p, t, c, when aspirated, are converted into
the corresponding spirants ; m becomes a voiced nasal spirant ;
s is converted into a voiceless breathing h (if s goes back to an
old sv or sp, its aspirated form is /, e.g. siur ' sister ' fr. *svesor,
but mofiur ' my sister.') ; aspirated / is silent, and consecjuently
sometimes omitted in writing; aspirated I, n, r have a much
less intensive articulation than the corresponding unaspirated
sounds.
§ 8. Only in the case of c, p, t is aspiration regularly expressed
in writing (ch, ph, th) ; in later O. Ir. the aspiration of / and
s is marked by putting a dot over them (s, /) ; b, d, g, m, I,
n, r may represent the aspirated or the unaspirated sounds.
But while the aspirated sounds cannot be doubled in writing,
this is done frequently with the unaspirated sounds; mostly
after vowels, but sometimes also after consonants. See § 90,
§ 34 and § 1 note.
On the doubling of initial unaspirated consonants, see § 34.
Principal Rules for Syntactical Aspiration. (Cf. § 6.)
§ 9. The article, and the adjectives each, nach, alaile, indala,
uile, cetnae, inonn aspirate a noun in the nom. sg. f. and nom.
pi. m., in the dat. sg. of all genders, and in the gen. sg. m.
and n.
e.g. do-n chorp 'to the body.'
§ 10. An adjective or a dependent genitive, when closely con-
nected with the foregoing word, is very often aspirated, if the
preceding noun is
(a) a dat. sg. (of all genders.)
(6) a nom. sg. f., or voc. sg. of all genders.
(c) a gen. sg. of a masc. or n. o or jo stem, or a nom. pi. of a
masc. o or jo stem.
(d) nom. or voc. pi. n.
8 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
e.g. ho thoil cholno ' as to the desire of the flesh ' (a) ; tol
cholnide ' carnal desire ' (6) ; ind folaid chitnai ' of
the same substance ' (c).
§ 11. After the poss. pron. m(o), do, t\ a (m. and n.), the infixed
pron. 1 and 2 sg. and 3 sg. n., si ' she,' the neuters alaill and the
interrogative pronouns ced, cid (§ 22, Exc. d.), ci-si aspiration
takes place.
e.g. a ehenel ' his tribe,' for-dom-chomaither ' I am pre-
served.'
§ 12. The voc. particle a, the conj. ocas (acus), no and fa (6a),
and the prepositions amal, ar, cen, di, do, fiad, fo, im(m), is, 6
{iia), 6s (lias), tre (tri) aspirate the initial of immediately follow-
ing nouns.
e.g. fo chosmuilius . . . ' after the fashion of . . .
§ 13. After the nom. ace. gen. dual m. and f. aspiration takes
place.
e.g. di chetbuid ' two senses.'
§ 14. The conjunctions rna, cia (ce), co, 6, and the negatives
nicon, nacon aspirate the initials of the following verbs,
e.g. 6 chretsit ' since they have believed.'
§ 15. Aspiration is found after some forms of the copula,
e.g. always after the imperative and after relative forms :
nech bed char(a)e ' any one that was a friend.'
§ 16. In the interior of nominal compounds aspiration takes
place : —
(a) after nouns, adjectives, and numerals.
e.g. dag-theist ' a good testimony.'
(6) after the prefixes so- (su-) y do- (du)-, mi-, neb- (neph-).
e.g. ml-thoimtiu ' a false opinion.'
(c) after prepositions ending originally in a vowel; later
also after other prepositions.
e.g. airchenn (fr. *pre-k v engnom) ' head, end.'
§ 17. In compound verbs all preverbal prepositions, the nega-
PHONOLOGY 9
tive nad and the particles no-, ro- (if no infixed pronoun
follows) aspirate the initial of the following syllable, if the verb
is used relatively (§ 159, b m.).
e.g. inti for-chain 'he that teaches, is lied inso no-
chairigur ' it is this which I reprimand.'
Exception a. When the relative form expresses an accusative
relation, either eclipsis or aspiration may take place,
e.g. is ed ad-chobrai-siu ' that is what thou desirest,' or is ed
ad-cobrai-siu (with eclipsed c, i.e. g).
Exception b. The copula is not aspirated after na and ro-.
Exception c. After nad eclipsis takes place in the cases mentioned
in § 28.
§ 18. In compound verbs aspiration takes place after ro- and
the other preverbal prepositions originally ending in a vowel,
when they are stressed (later also after other prepositions, e.g.
com-, etar-, for-, etc.)
e.g. ni im-thesid (fr. *mbhi-{s)teigh-s-ete) ' ye should not
walk.'
Syntactical Aspiration does not take place
§ 19. (a) in a word beginning with d, t if the preceding word
ends in I, n, or s.
e.g. cen tossach ' without beginning.'
(b) In a word beginning with a stop or spirant, if the preced-
ing word ends in a homorganic consonant,
e.g. each cloine ' every iniquity ' (cf. § 9.)
bad treuin ' be ye strenuous ' (cf. § 15.)
Note 1. — Initial p is sometimes aspirated and sometimes not.
Note 2. — The initials of the adjective each (cech), the emphasis-
ing pronouns -sa, -se, -su, etc., and the affixed demonstrative par-
ticles so, sin (except after prepositions, e.g. di-sin ' hence ') and
the possessive pronoun mo are never aspirated.
e.g. tiagussa ( = tiagu-sa) 'I go' (cf. § 8), ind libuirse 'of
this book.'
10 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Eclipsis
§ 20. Words ending originally in -n may eclipse the initial
consonant of a closely connected following word. (Cf. § 22,
note 2.)
§ 21. When eclipsed the voiceless stops c, t, p become voiced,
b, d, g are changed into mb, nd, ng (pronounced m, n, rj) ; / be-
comes a voiced spirant v (written b) ; s, r, I, n, m seem to remain
unchanged (cf. § 34 note), while vowels take an n- before them.
It is only in the case of b, d, g and of initial vowels that eclipsis
is regularly expressed in writing.
Rules for Eclipsis
§ 22. Eclipsis takes place after the gen. pi. and ace. sg. of all
genders and the nom. and ace. sg. neuter of all declinable
words.
e.g. nert n-irisse 'strength of faith,' co cenn m-bliadnae
1 till the end of the year.'
Exception a. If the word following the eclipsing form is a
dependent genitive or a preposition with suffixed personal
pronoun, eclipsis may take place or not.
e.g. Ida m-bratha or Ida brdtha ' day of doom.'
Exception b. Unstressed words (§ 51) or syllables (§ 53, 3)
cannot be eclipsed as a rule, though in later O. I. proclitic words
are occasionally eclipsed.
e.g. torbae do neuch (not : torbae n-do) ' a profit for any one.'
Exception c. As n may be thrown out between certain conso-
nants 1 eclipsis is often given up when the eclipsing n (m) would
stand between two consonants.
e.g. nach dichlith (or nach n-dichlith) ' any concealment '
(ace).
Exception d. The neuters alaill l another ' (probably also
aill), na * any ' (probably also m ' anything ') ced, cid ' what ? '
1 e.g. tair(n)gire 'promise,' scrib(n)did ' scribe' ; also other consonants may be
thrown out e.g. forgaire or forng aire instead of *forcngaire (=for-con-gaire)
* command.'
PHONOLOGY 11
(probably also ed * it '), and the infixed neuter personal pronoun
of the 3 sg. do not cause eclipsis (cf. § 11).
e.g. na galar ' any sickness.'
Note 1. — The nominal prepositions dbchim 'to,' i n-degaid,
'after' and tar-esi 'in place of,' which cause eclipsis, are like-
wise subject to the exceptions a, b and c.
Note 2. Eclipsis takes place after the nominative and accusative
singular neuter, even if the form did not originally end
in -n.
e.g. bir n-umai (fr. i.e. *g v eru omijl) 'a spit of brass.'
§ 23. The numeral adjectives secht, ocht, noi, deich (also coic
and se in the genitive case), the possessive pronouns ar, far, a
(' their ') and the interrogative particle in cause eclipsis.
§ 24. Eclipsis takes place after the neuter dual forms and the
dative dual of all genders of the numeral 2.
e.g. i n-dib n-uarib deac 'in twelve hours.'
§ 25. Eclipsis takes place after the conjunctions a ' when,' ara
' in order that,' co, con ' so that ' diet ' if,' 6 (ua) ' since ' and the
prepositions co (' with '), i, iar, re (ria). On dochum, i n-degaid,
tar-esi, see § 22, note 1.
§ 26. The relative particle (s)a causes eclipsis.
e.g. tressa m-bi bethu ' through which is life.'
§ 27. Eclipsis takes place regularly after the infixed personal
pronoun of the 3 sg. masc. and often after the infixed personal
pronoun s of the 3 sg. fern, and 3 plur.
e.g. cot-n-erba 'he entrusts himself; no-s-m-bered 'he
carried them.'
§ 28. In compound relative 1 verbs the negative na, nad,
the preverbal prepositions and the particles ro-, no- (if no in-
fixed pronoun follows) eclipse the initial of the following syllable
under the following conditions :
a. If the relative form expresses an accusative relation,
e.g. in nuall do-n-gni ' the shout which he makes.'
See also § 17, exception a.
1 In the cases mentioned below under b (but not after adjectives), c, e, f, g, tho
verb is not necessarily relative, and hence eclipsis is not obligatory.
12 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
b. After adverbs and adjectives of manner.
e.g. is maith do-m-beir 'it is well that he gives.'
c. After substantives with the force of an oblique case of the
relative.
e.g. laithe ro-n-genair ' the day on which he was born.'
d. In the so-called etymological figure.
e.g. legend ro-llegusa ( = ro-n-legus-sa) ' the reading which I
have read. 5
e. After certain nominal and pronominal conjunctions: ama(i)l,
cein, cene, inta(i)n, lasse, a (' when ') ore (liare), fo biih, deg.
f. In reported speech,
e.g. as-beir nad-n-iba ' he says that he will not drink.'
g. With a dependent subjunctive.
e.g. amaires na-n-da-tiberad dice ' unfaith, that God would
not give it.'
h. After ol ' than ' and ' because.'
e.g. ol as-n-gleinn ' because he searches out.'
§ 29. In relative verbs which contain an infixed pronoun the
eclipsing n is inserted immediately before the d of the pronoun,
e.g. amal as-i-n-d-biur sa (not *as-n-id-) ' as I say it.'
§ 30. In simple relative verbs eclipsis takes place under the
same conditions as in compound relative verbs (§ 28) though
not regularly. Only after a ' what ' eclipsis is regular.
e.g. amal n-guidess ' as he prays,' is maith n-dsas ' it is
well that it grows,' i.e. ' it grows well.'
Note. — Absolute copula forms are not eclipsed but cause
eclipsis of a following stressed word,
e.g. c6in has m-bdo * as long as he is alive.'
§ 31. In interrogative sentences absolute copula forms some-
times cause eclipsis.
e.g. cit n-e ' who are they ? '
§ 32. A petrified n is found in nechtar n-ai ' either of them,'
cechtar n-ai ' every one of them,' indala n-ai ' one of them,' and
cechtar n-athar ' both of us.'
PHONOLOGY 13
§ 33. The eclipsing n may be omitted in writing if the next
word begins with a (merely graphic) h (cf. § 1, 5.)
e.g. dochum hirisse (or dochum n-irisse) ' unto faith.'
Doubling of Initial Consonants
§ 34. As proclitic words are often written together with the
following stressed word, the initial consonant of this word may
be treated orthographically like a consonant in the interior of
a word. Thus if the preceding proclitic word (ending in a vowel)
does not cause aspiration (e.g. the prepositions a, co, fri, la, the
neuter na 'any' etc.) the initial consonant may be doubled
(§ 8), and the voiced stops b, d, g may be written p, t, c, etc.
(§!)•
e.g. tiagussa ( = tiagu-sa) ' I go,' bacalar ( = ba galar) ' it
was sickness ' ; collda ' to the day ' ( = co Ida ; both
forms in Wb. 5b 4).
The same explanation holds good in the case of verbal com-
pounds, where such doubling is found after the pretonic pre-
verbal prepositions, after to-, no- and the negative particles ni,
na, coni, cona, etc., provided the verb is not relative.
e.g. nitenat (=ni denat) 'they do not do,' dommuinetar
( = do-muinetar) 'they believe.'
Perhaps this doubling is not in every case merely ortho-
graphical. Spontaneous doubling of initial consonants occurs
also in Italian.
In the genitive of the article, the fern, possessive pronoun a
and other words ending originally in -s, the aspirated final s
( = h) may have been assimilated to the following consonant.
Note. — The doubling of s, I, r, n, m after eclipsing pretonic
words could be also explained by assuming assimilation
to the eclipsing n.
On the Quality of Consonants
§ 35. Every consonant may be pronounced in three different
ways. It may possess a palatal (i) quality, a broad or neutral
(a) quality, or a rounded (o and u) quality according to the
point of contact of the tongue with the palate and the position
14 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
of the lips. A palatal consonant is followed by e or i, a broad
consonant by a, and a rounded one by o or u.
Glide-Vowels
§ 36. Before a palatal consonant at the end of a word or of a
syllable (except after i, i, and the diphthongs tie ai, 6e oi, ui)
a glide-vowel i is regularly inserted.
e.g. muir ' sea ' (fr. *mori), toim-tiu ' opinion ' (fr. *to-
mentjo).
§ 37. Before a vowel-flanked palatal consonant, which begins
a new syllable, an i glide is likewise often inserted, though not
regularly.
e.g. fla-thi or flai-thi ' princes ' (fr. *vhtejes).
| 38. Before an u coloured consonant at the end of a word or
of a syllable after short a, e, i, an u glide is regularly inserted ;
only here and there an u glide appears also before a vowel-
flanked u coloured consonant.
e.g.fiuss 'knowledge (fr. *vid-tus),firu 'men ' (ace. pi.).
Note. — There is a strong tendency in final consonants to give
up their u quality in favour of the more neutral a colour
(cf. § 49). Instead of -euch appears often -eoch.
§ 39. No glide- vowel is inserted before (originally) a or o
coloured consonants.
e.g. fer ' man ' (fr. * vivos).
§ 40. Final a, o, u preceded by palatal consonants are
regularly written -ea, -eo, -iu, sometimes only -a, -o, -a, if the
palatal quality of the preceding consonant is already indicated
by the insertion of an i glide (§§ 36, 37).
e.2f. didiu or didu ' hence,' fr. di-suidiu. aithrea ' fathers '
(ace. pi.) fr. *aterds, I.E. *jpdterns.
§ 41. Final e, i preceded by non-palatal consonants or vowels
are from the ninth century onwards regularly written -ae, -ai ;
later J they become -a.
e.g. nue, nilae, nda ' new ' fr. *novijo- ; lobre, lobrae, lobra
' weakness.'
1 Before a closely connected word already in the 8th cent., e.g. Ida m-brdtha,
* day of doom.' Cf. § 139, note 2.
PHONOLOGY 15
Old Final Syllables
§ 42. In words of more than one syllable all final vowels and
diphthongs have been dropped, except when preceded by j.
{Cf. § 46.) On vowels preceded by v see § 112, 3.
e.g. ttiath ' people ' fr. *teutd, -biur I carry fr. *bhero.
§ 43. Final d, t, h, n, m, s and all consonant groups containing
s (except rs, rks, rts, rps, and Is, Iks, Its, Ips) have been dropped,
e.g. mi, ' month ' fr. *mens ; ri ' king ' fr. *re<js.
§ 44. In words of more than one syllable ending in any of
the consonants mentioned in § 43 (except rs, Is, etc.) a preced-
ing short vowel is dropped together with the final consonants,
e.g. traig ' foot ' fr. *tr9ghets, sail ' willow ' fr. *saliks.
Exception. Short vowels are kept x before final ns, nts. On
-anks, -ants see § 144.
e.g. fiado ' lord ' fr. *veidonts.
§ 45. In words of more than one syllable long vowels and
diphthongs in final syllables have been preserved 1 as short
vowels, if followed (originally) by a consonant.
e.g. siur ' sister ' fr. *svesor, tuatha ' peoples ' fr. *teutds.
Exception.— Before final -n, -m long vowels have been shortened
very early and are treated like short vowels (§ 118).
e.g. fer (gen. plur. offer 'man') fr. *viron, older *virum.
§ 46. Final unstressed syllables preceded by a postvocalic
consonant (or u, v)+j are never dropped. 2 ji and je give i,ju
(final -ju may come from older -jo) gives u, jo and jd (also jd, je,
when followed originally by a consonant) give e.
e.g. aile m. f. ' other ' fr. *aljos, *aljd ; dat. sg. m. ailiu fr. *aljoi.
Influence of Lost Vowels in Final Syllables on the Preceding
Consonants
§ 47. If the lost vowel was I or I or an i diphthong, the
1 Preserved final unstressed has become a towards the end of the eighth
century.
e.g. fessa, older fesso fr. *vidtous, gen. sg. oiJi{u)ss, 'knowledge.'
a and u in similar position remain unchanged.
On e and * see § 41.
In proclitic luords a final rounded vowel appears as o or u (cf. § 81, excep-
tion 1-3).
2 Even after j which has been developed from unstressed e, i in hiatuB (§ 125).
16 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
preceding consonants become palatal e.g. muir 'sea' fr *mori,
neirt (gen. sg. of nert 'strength') fr. *nerti\ fir 'men' fr. *viri,
older *viroi. But final -oi acts like o e.g. fiur (dat. sg.) fr. *viroi.
§ 48. If the lost vowel was d, eu, ou or o (6 in final syllables
had become u, except before -m, -n, cf. § 45 exception), the pre-
ceding consonants become broad,
e.g. sciath ' shield ' fr. *skeitos.
§ 49. If the lost vowel was it, du, ou, o{i) or u, the rules
are more complicated.
1. Consonants preceded by long vowels (save u) or diphthongs
are regularly broad.
e.g. dan ' gift ' fr. *donus.
Exception. — After e resulting from compensatory lengthening
(§§ 107-108) final I, n, r keep their u quality.
e.g. dun dat. sg. of en 'bird' fr. *petndi (cf. § 48).
2. ch, cc, th, d (if from th, § 72) and ss preceded by d {d) are
likewise broad.
e.g. cath ' battle ' fr. *1catus, glanad, ' cleansing ' fr. *glanatus.
3. In other cases we have to distinguish between stressed and
unstressed syllables :
(a) in unstressed final syllables, except in the cases mentioned
above the u quality regularly prevails (but consonants originally
preceded by ja, p are broad; see brithem, § 145).
e.g. animus ' attempt ' fr. *ad-med-tus.
(b) in stressed syllables some consonant groups and ss often
— though not regularly — give up their u quality in order to
become broad.
e.g. mess 'judgment' fr. *med-tus;fiss or fiuss 'knowledge'
fr. *vid-tus.
Note. — All these rules are very often crossed by analogical
influences. In datives like galar ' sickness,' sacardd 'priest,'
the preservation of the second a may be due to the
assimilation to the first a.
Development of Secondary Vowels after the Loss of Final
Syllables
§ 50. If after the loss of final syllables a final consonant group
PHONOLOGY 17
ended in I, r, n, m, preceded by a different consonant, a secondary
vowel is developed between them.
e.g. arathar ' plough ' fr. *ardtrom, immon ' hymn ' fr.
Latin hymnus.
(On the quality of these vowels, see § 60.)
(On secondary vowels developed in syncopated syllables, see
§59.)
No secondary vowel is developed
(a) If the preceding consonant has been lost (§§ 107, 109.)
e.g. uar ' cold ' fr. *ougro-.
(b) If ra, n, are preceded by postvocalic r, I or aspirated d.
e.g. salm, psalm ' fr. Latin psalmus.
Stress
§ 51. The article, pronouns, and prepositions before their
relation, infixed personal pronouns and the copula as well as
emphasising pronouns, affixed demonstrative pronouns, and
some conjunctions (but cf. p. 29, footnote), never bear any stress.
§ 52. All other words with exception of the verbs are stressed
on the first syllable.
Note. — In compounds, as ro-mdr ' very great,' com-ldn ' complete '
the stem syllable may bear a secondary stress. This is of
course a late development.
§ 53. With regard to verbs we have to distinguish :
1. Simple and denominative verbs (i.e. verbs formed from a
noun) are always stressed on the first syllable.
e.g. cbmalnaithir ' fulfils ' (fr. comldn).
2. Compound verbs (including verbs which have the verbal
particle ro- before them) are stressed on the first syllable x only
in the following cases :
(a) In the imperative, except when there is an infixed
pronoun.
e.g. epir ' say ' fr. *e£:s-bhere, but du-m-em se ' protect me.'
(b) After the relative preceded by a preposition,
e.g. frissa n-epur ' to whom I say.'
1 So-called genuine compounds, § 173, «; cf. § 181, footnote.
B
18 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
(c) After the negative particles ni, na, nad, nach and their
compounds (nicon, mani, ceni, etc.).
e.g. arna-cbscram ( = con-scaram) ' in order that we may
not destroy.'
(d) After the interrogative particle in
e.g. in fbdmat ? ' Do they suffer ? ' ( =fo-damet).
(e) After the conjunctions ara n 'in order that,' co n , con" 'so
that,' dia" ' if, when,' 6 (ua n ) ' since.'
e.g. con rb-chra ( = ro-cara) 'that he might love.'
Exception. — If the verbal particle ro- comes immediately
(without an intervening infixed personal pronoun) after the
aforementioned particles (with the exception of nad) the stress
is sometimes shifted to the following syllable.
e.g. con-ru-failnither ' that it may be supplied,' but con
rb-chra.
3. Otherwise in compound verbs (including verbs which have
the verbal particles no- or ro- before them) the second element
bears the stress. 1
e.g. do-beir ' he gives,' ro-gab ' he has taken.'
Note 1. — If there is an infixed pronoun, the syllable following
the pronoun is stressed.
e.g. imm-um-riiidbed ' I have been circumcised.'
Note 2. — The particles mentioned above (b-e) and ro-, no- are
called preverbs (§ 173, 2).
Working of the Accent in Stressed Syllables
§ 54. Stressed syllables ending in a vowel (after the loss of
final consonants) are lengthened.
e.g. trie ' a doomed person' fr. *truk-s, but gen. troch fr.
*truk-os.
Working of the Accent in Enclitic Syllables
§ 55. Syncope.
I. In words of more than two (and four) syllables (after the loss
of final syllables) the vowel of the second (and fourth) syllable is
thrown out.
- m| * So-called non-genuine compounds, § 173, 2 ; cf. § 181 footnote.
J;
PHONOLOGY 19
e.g. toimtiu ' opinion ' fr. *to-metiu I.E. *to-mentjo ; apstul
fr. Latin apostolus ; -accat ' they see ' fr. *ac-cjot, I.E.
*ad-k v isont.
Note a. Dissyllabic ia (also when fr. la, § 125, note) when stressed
becomes e by syncope.
e.g. ern-bas 'death by the sword' fr. iarn 'iron' (0. C. tsarnon)
and has ' death.
N t e b. — Many exceptions are caused by analogical influences ; the
syncopated vowel may be restored, or a wrong syllable may be
syncopated.
e.g. foissama (gen. sg. of foessam ' protection '), besides the
regular syncopated fotema ; filetae ' poetical ' (fr. *velct-adjo-
we expect *filtide ; the preservation of the second syllable
is due to the influence of the root- word fill, gen. filed).
Note c. The development of secondary vowels (§ 50) is later than
the syncope ; hence the preservation of the second syllable,
e.g. arathar ' plough ' fr. *arathr, older *ardtrom.
II. When consonants of different quality come together by
syncope, the quality of the first consonant x prevails. But when
consonants of u and i quality come together, the whole group
becomes palatal.
e.g. aimseo (fr. *ad-messo, I.E. *ad-med-tous) gen. of ammus
'attempt'; rignai (fr. *rigani, *re{jnjai) dat. sg. of
rigain ' queen ' ; but Luigdech (Ogam : Lugudeccas)
gen. of Lugaid.
Exception. — In compound words the assimilation of different-
coloured consonants does not always take place. Sometimes
even the first consonant is assimilated to the second one.
e.g. dagtheist (fr. older *dago-testis we expect *dagthaist)
' good testimony ' (testis is a loan fr. Lat.), or ath-chor
' restoring.'
(We should have expected *aithcher fr. *ate-korom.)
Note.— Syncopated au acts like u upon the preceding con-
sonant.
1 When the second consonant was an aspirated non-palatal .s (=/(), the whole
group seems to have been depalatalised.
e.g. intamail 'imitation' fr. *inde-mmail, I.E. * ndhe-smalis.
20 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
e.g. -titset ' they shall hear ' fr. 0. C. *en-taussint ; duilgme ' re-
muneration ' fr. *dulaugine, I.E. *de-upo-l9vg-injd.
§ 56. Shortening of Long Vowels.
All unstressed long vowels that have not been thrown out
by syncope have been shortened.
e.g. teglach 'household' fr. *tego-slogon, *{s)tego-slougom.
Note 1. In compounds the length of vowels has often been analogi-
cally restored.
e.g. ir-bdg 'boasting' ; the d has been restored from the simplex
bag. Cf. § 52 note.
Not© 2. The compensatory lengthening before I, n, r is later than
the shortening of long vowels, hence anal ' breath ' f r. *andtla.
§ 57. The quality of unstressed non-final vowels depends
very much on the quality of the surrounding consonants. 1
a. Enclitic vowels in closed syllables appear
1. between palatal consonants as i, very seldom as e.
e.g. berid ' he carries ' fr. *bhereti.
2. between neutral consonants (cf. § 64) as a.
e.g. carat, fr. *kdrantos, gen. sg. of carae ' friend. '
3. between a palatal and a neutral consonant as e.
e.g. muilenn ' mill ' fr. Latin molina.
4. between a neutral and palatal consonant as i or ai, later
regularly as ai.
e.g. benid, benaid ' strike ! ' (2 pi. ipv.) fr. *bhi-nd-te.
5. between an u coloured and a palatal consonant as i or ui
e.g. cetbuith ' sense ' (dat. sg.) fr. *-bhutai.
6. between a palatal and an n coloured consonant as iu.
e.g. claidiub, dat. of claideb ' sword.'
b. Enclitic vowels in open syllables appear
1. between palatal consonants as i, seldom as e.
e.g. airmitiu ' honour ' fr. *pre-mentjo.
2. between neutral consonants as a.
e.g. arada ace. pi. of ara 'charioteer.'
1 On the quality of preserved final vowels, see § 41 and p. 15 footnote.
PHONOLOGY 21
3. between a palatal and a neutral consonant as e, some-
times as i.
e.g. forcetal or foreital ' teaching ' fr.for+cetal.
4. between a neutral and a palatal consonant as i, later
as a(i).
e.g. scelige, scela(i)ge ' storyteller.'
5. between an u coloured and a palatal consonant as u(i),
seldom as i.
e.g. sochuide, sochude, sochide ' multitude.'
6. between a palatal and an u coloured consonant as i>
seldom as iu.
e.g. airigud ' perceiving.'
C. Enclitic vowels in open or closed syllables appear
1. between rounded consonants as u or o, though u is much
more common.
e.g. -dgur or -dgor ' I fear ' (§§ 62, 49, 3 a ).
2. between coloured and neutral consonants or vice versa
regularly as 0, but sometimes as a.
e.g. feronn or ferann ' land ' (fr. *verono-), anacol
' protection.'
3. between an u coloured and a neutral consonant as u or 0.
e.g. Mid. I. irussa, O. Ir. *iruss(a)e fr. ir-(0. C. *eru,
I.E. *perd)+ass(a)e (I.E. *ad-(s)thajo-) 'very easy.'
Mid. I. irud, irod fr. ir- + *dt1t (0. Ir. ilath) 'great
dread.'
Cf. further §§ 63, 64.
Note. — The rules given in this paragraph are sometimes crossed
by analogy, e.g. bindiusa, gen. sg. of bindius 'melody,' owes
its u to the influence of the nominative. The regular form
would be *bindsea, older *bindseo (fr. *bindesso, *bhndistous),
or with the second vowel analogically kept *bindessa.
§ 58. Unstressed non-final vowels preceded by another vowel
take the quality of the following consonant. Only id before a
palatal consonant is changed to ie.
e.g. drudd fr. *dru-vid-os, gen. sg. of drui ' druid '
bieid ' he will be ' fr. *bhvijdti.
22 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Development of Secondary Vowels in Syncopated Syllables
§ 59. When the loss of a syncopated vowel leaves a liquid or
nasal between consonants, a secondary vowel is developed,
except when a nasal is followed by a homorganic media.
e.g. comalnad ' fulfilment ' fr. *comlnad, fr. *com-ldnath
0. C. *kom-ldnatus; ingantach ' wonderful' fr. *ingntach
fr. *ingndtJiach O. C. *i r >i-gndtdho- ; but icndaircc
' absent ' fr. I. E. *n-kom-derfci-.
On the quality of these vowels, see §§ 66-71.
Quality of Final Consonants preceded by an Epenthetic Vowel
§ 60. Final I, r, n, m, which have developed an epenthetic
vowel before them (§ 50) keep the quality of the lost final
vowel (§§ 47, 48, 49). Labials only are always rounded before
such an epenthetic vowel.
e.g. omun, omon ' fear ' fr. O. C. *obnos ; immun, immon fr.
Latin hymnus ; arathar ' plough ' fr. I.E. *ardtrom.
Forms like arathair, gen. sg. of arathar owe their non-palatal con-
sonant to the influence of the nominative, as the th in 0. C. *aratrl does
not resist palatalisation.
Rounded Quality of Consonants in Enclitic Syllables
§ 61. In syllables following the accent non-palatal or depala-
talised (§ 65) labials and gutturals take u colour before un-
stressed vowels, followed by palatal consonants. In the ninth
century such u coloured consonants become broad.
e.g. meiimuin, later menmain (fr. *menmeni) dat. sg. of
menmae ' mind.'
§ 62. Non-palatal or depalatalised consonants take rounded
quality before final (j)u or unstressed vowels, followed by
rounded consonants.
e.g. dorus 'door' fr. *dhvorestu, animus 'attempt' fr.
*ad-med-tus.
In this way u quality may spread from one syllable to
another.
e.g. merugud ' going astray ' fr. O. C. * mero-sagitus.
PHONOLOGY 23
Labials and gutturals are depalatalised (cf. § 65 note 2).
e.g. -epur ' I say ' fr. *€Ks-bhero.
Note. — Palatalisation is often analogically reintroduced, e.g. in
-epiur ' I say ' (besides regular -epur), where the palatal
quality of the p is due to the influence of other forms, like
-e(i)pir ' he says.'
§ 63. Labials and gutturals preserve their rounded colour
before unstressed vowels, followed by neutral aspirated I, n, r.
e.g. mlegon ' milking ' fr. *mlgono- ; anacol ' protection.'
Note. — u colour is often introduced from forms, where the u
was regular ; e.g. the nom. sg. mlegun (by mlegon) may owe
its u to the influence of the dative mlegun (fr. *mlgonoi) or
the genitive mleguin (§ 61).
§ 64. With exception of the instances given above (§§ 61-63),
and some other cases, 1 all non-palatal or depalatalised consonants
in unstressed syllables have taken neutral colour.
Note 1. Short syncopated o and o in lost final syllables act like a
upon the preceding consonants (cf. § 48). Unaccented u and o, on the
one hand, and unaccented o and a on the other hand, have fallen together
during the Old-Irish period, though traditional writing in most cases
preserves the older vowel. Cf. § 57 c.
e.g. do-tiagat 'they come,' arch, tu^thegot, fr. *-(s)teighont ; cinaid
fr. *k%nutes, nom. pi. of tin 'guilt.'
On the rounded quality of consonants preceded by an epen-
thetic vowel, see §§ 60, 70, 71.
Note 2. Old final single r, when preceded by u, has kept u colour,
e.g. siur ' sister ' fr. *svesUr, I. E. *svesor.
Depalatalisation of Consonants in Enclitic Syllables
§ 65. While in stressed syllables consonants followed by
stressed e, i, are regularly palatal, consonants often give up their
palatal quality in unstressed syllables in order to take broad or
rounded (§§ 61, 62) quality.
1 e.g.flechod 'moisture' fr. *vli/Co-torn, feronn (§ 57 as,) biror 'water-cress'
fr. *g v eru-ro-, irud ' great dread ' (§ 57, c . 3 ).
24 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
In syllables following the accent, when the originally palatal
unaccented vowel (no palatalisation took place, where the palatal
vowel goes back to a dissyllabic vowel-group, in which the first
vowel was non-palatal, e.g. assae ' easy ' fr. *ad-(s)thd-jo-) remains,
the preceding consonants are depalatalised under the following
conditions : x —
1. r, I, n, before which a consonant has been lost (§ 109) are
regularly depalatalised.
e.g. tuar(a)e ' food ' fr. *tb-g tl r-ijd. (The same root in Lith.
glria ' drink.')
2. Labials (also mb) and gutturals (also ng) are depalatalised
after a preceding a, o, 6, u, u, ua, and take broad — under certain
conditions (§§ 61, 62), rounded — quality.
e.g. subae ' gladness ' fr. *su-bhvjo- ; ungae fr. Latin uncia.
Note 1. — There is much uncertainty as regards the treatment
of aspirated gutturals preceded by u, e.g. lugae 'oath,'
besides luige.
Note 2. — Labials and gutturals even if preceded by e, t, or a,
are depalatalised, if (j)u or an u coloured consonant
follows. See § 62.
3. Labials and gutturals preceded by short a seem to have
been treated like dentals, but it is very probable that depala-
talisation may have taken place in other cases 2 as well. Owing
to the lack of material the question is very hard to solve.
It seems as if unaspirated gutturals and labials were depalata-
lised also before jo, followed by preserved non-palatal consonants,
e.g. -accat ' they see ' fr. *-ad-cjot, *dd-k v isont ; but ro-laime-
thar 'he dares' fr. O. C. *-lamjetro ; *laigem, superlative
of becc ' small ' fr. Hagjam *lagisamos, I.E. *lag v hi-smos.
(The form Haigem must have existed, for it is only
from the influence of Haigem that laigiu, a by-form
of the regular comparative l(a)ugu can be explained.
Cf. § 62 and note 2 above.)
4. Dentals are depalatalised, if preceded by a, d, 6, ua, and by
1 These rules do not apply to epenthetic vowels which have only been
developed after the loss of the unaccented vowel, e.g. do-aissilbi ' assigns ' fr.
*do-asslbi fr. *to-ad-selbi.
2 So perhaps before unaspirated b and p ; cf. Mid. I. -apair 'says' ( = ad + beir).
PHONOLOGY 25
short o that has not been changed to u (§ 116), provided the old
palatal vowel was followed by a non-palatal consonant.
e.g. adall 'visit' fr. *ad-ello-n I.E. *ad-cl-nom, but cuilen
' whelp ' fr. *koli<jnos.
The depalatalisation in doraid 'difficult' fr. do+rSid, soraid 'easy'
fr. so+riid, sonairt ' strong ' fr. *so-nerti-s is due to generalisation from
cases, in which so- and do- were regularly followed by a non-palatal
consonant, e.g. solus 'clear' fr. so+tis 'light,' solus 'good manners'
fr. so-\-b4s 'custom.'
Exception. — If the palatal vowel goes back to an old (i)j
(or ep, ip, iv, es, is) + vowel no depalatalisation can take place,
e.g. cailech ' cock ' fr. *kaljakos, flaithem ' prince ' fr.
*vldtjomo.
5. Old consonant groups are depalatalised as a rule. [If the
last consonant of the group is a labial or guttural, it may take
u colour under certain conditions (§§ 61, 62).]
e.g. orbae ' inheritance ' fr. *orb(i)jom, derbae ' certainty ' fr.
*derv(i)jd.
Exception. — Some groups, as nd, nt are liable to palatalisation
and treated like single d, t; similarly dg (dc) seems to have
been treated like single g. For the treatment of ra&, ng, see
above (2).
e.g. bindius ' melody ' fr. *bindissus, older *bhndistus ; dobidcet
' they throw.'
Other instances, as cuimlin (com+lln) 'equal number' may
perhaps be explained like athchor (§ 55 II., exception),
where a final consonant of the prefix has taken the
quality of the initial consonant of the stem.
On the quality of consonant groups containing r, I, n which
had become syllabic after the loss of a final or syncopated
vowel, see §§ 60, 66-71.
6. Old final consonants which have not been lost have
become broad. Only single r has remained palatal after e, i.
Cf. further § 64 note 2.
e.g. -6er£*he carried' fr. *bhert; det 'tooth' fr. *dnt; but
athir ' father ' fr. *pdter.
26 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Quality of Consonants in Syncopated Syllables, which have
developed an Epenthetic Vowel before them
§ 66. In unstressed syllables old or secondary consonant
groups containing r, I, n+ consonant which had become syllabic
after or before a syncopated vowel are liable to palatalisation
before a remaining palatal vowel without regard to the quality
of the syncopated vowel.
e.g. do-dissilbi 'assigns ' fr. *do-asslbi *to-ad-selvi-t ; ingainte
' marvellousness' fr. *ingnte, *in-gnathe, I.E. *)i-gndtja;
but in a stressed syllable : selbaid ' he possesses ' fr.
*selvi-ti.
§ 67. But if such a consonant group follows a labial, the
whole group is regularly depalatalised.
e.g. comard(a)e 'sign' fr. com+airde, 0. C. *-are-vidjon.
§ 68. These rules (§§ 66, 67) are very often crossed by
analogy.
e.g. tabairte (gen. sg. of tabart ' giving ') fr. *to-bli.er-tjas, with
the palatal rt restored from the dat. ace. sg. tabairt,
besides the regular (§ 67) tabartae.
§ 69. The consonants which have been brought together by
syncope with following syllabic liquids (the depalatalisation of
which has been discussed in §§ 66, 67), are palatal or non-
palatal according to the quality of the syncopated vowel.
Only labials are regularly depalatalised.
e.g. do-aissilbi (with palatal ss), tabartae (with broad b).
The broad n in sonairte is due to the influence of sonairt. Cf § 65, 4.
§ 70. Consonants followed by an epenthetic vowel are rounded
without regard to the quality of the syncopated vowel if the next
syllable begins or began with a rounded consonant. Cf. § 62.
e.g. cethorcha 'forty,' older *cethorcho, fr. *cethrcJio,
I.E. *k v etru-fcomt-s.
But sometimes neutral colour is found, especially when the following
consonant had become broad, e.g. ecolso, later ecalsa, gen. sg. of eclais
1 church.'
§ 71. Labials have in most cases neutral colour before a
syllabic I, r, n without regard to the quality of the syncopated
PHONOLOGY 27
vowel. There are, however, still traces of an older rounded
quality.
e.g. -comollnither (fr. *com-lan ) 'be it fulfilled' beside
-comalnither.
Voicing of Spirants in Unstressed Syllables
§ 72. The dental spirant th is voiced
(a) in the interior of a word if flanked by vowels and separated
from the stressed syllable by at least two unstressed syllables.
e.g. sonartaidir corn par. of equality of sonairt ' strong ' ;
but lerithir cornpar. of equality of Mir ' diligent.' (Old
suffix *-tris.)
(b) if final and unstressed.
e.g. peccad ' sin ' fr. Latin peccatum.
§ 73. The spirant ch is voiced only if palatal or rounded.
(a) regularly in the interior of a word, if flanked by vowels,
e.g. dtlugud ' giving thanks,' verb-noun of atluchur.
(b) if final and unstressed.
e.g. tossug dat. sg. of tossach ' beginning ' ; tegl(a)ig gen. sg
of teglach ' family.'
§ 74. Vowel-flanked or final / in unstressed syllables is-
regularly voiced (written b).
e.g. felsub fr. Latin philosophus.
Note. — Final / appears also in stressed syllables as b e.g. sib
'you' fr. *sif, 0. C. *svisvi.
Unvoicing of Final Aspirated g
§ 75. Final aspirated non-palatal g is regularly unvoiced in
stressed and unstressed syllables.
e.g. tech ' house ' fr. *(s)tegos ; teglach ' family ' fr. *(s)tego-
slougom.
The voiced spirant is often analogically restored, e.g. in mag ' field *
through influence of the genitive ■maige.
De- aspiration of Final Consonants
§ 76. In words of more than one syllable final I, n in
28 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
unstressed syllables are de-aspirated (e.g. they become 11, nn), if
the same syllable begins with r, I or n.
e.g. Conall fr. O. C. *kuno-valos, imbliu 'navel,' gen. imblenn.
(0. C. Ending *-jon-os.)
Working of the Accent in Proclitic Syllables
§ 77. In proclitic groups of three or more syllables, the vowel
of the second (and fourth) syllable is often thrown out.
e.g. nirbo ( = ni robo) fir ' it was not true ' ; mainbed (fr.
mani bed) maith ' if it would not be good.'
Note. — In words beginning with a vowel the initial vowel is
sometimes elided ; so the article inna appears occasionally
as na.
§ 78. In proclitic monosyllables the final vowel is often
■elided in hiatus. Final m, n remain as n, stops -fs remain
as s(s).
e.g. t'esseirge ( = to ess&irge) ' thy resurrection.'
§ 79. Initial s and post-vocalic th are dropped.
e.g. ama{i)l ' as,' dat. sg. of samail ' likeness ' used as a con-
junction ; fri ' towards ' fr. frith, *vrt.
| 80. Initial t becomes voiced.
e.g. do thech ' thy house ' (but t'esseirge) ; dar a chenn ' for
him ' (but torunn ' for us ').
§ 81. All consonants have a tendency to become broad.
e.g. ad-, ar-, pretonic forms of the prepositions aith-, air- ;
ind (instead of *iund) dat. sg. masc. and neutr. of
the article, fr. *sin+du (fr. *toi).
Exception 1. Initial consonants keep their quality in proclitic
monosyllables ending in a vowel before a connected proclitic
word beginning with a vowel. In this case final e is changed
to i ; final o is changed to u.
e.g. lia ' with his' (fr. le+a); fua (analogically foa) 'under
his.'
Exception 2. In proclitic words of two syllables the initial
consonants of the first or second syllables may under certain
PHONOLOGY 29
conditions preserve their original quality. In this case the vowels
are treated like vowels in ordinary enclitic syllables (cf. § 57).
Initial vowels appear before palatal consonants as i, before
rounded consonants as o.
e.g. itir ' between ' ; ocus ' and.'
Note. — The original palatal quality may be restored by analogy
or through the influence of a following accented word
beginning with a palatal vowel.
e.g. is 'he is ' (fr. *esti) instead of *as through influence
of following personal pronouns beginning with e or i
(is6 'he is,' issi 'she is,' etc.).
Exception 3. The O. Ir. diphthongs resulting from a, o u-f
v-\- vowel become o, u and the preceding consonants remain
rounded.
e.g. du (do) 'thy' fr. Hovji; nu (no) 'or' fr. *nove, I.E.
*ne-ve.
§ 82. Some proclitic words of two syllables always preserve
their final syllable, e.g. ceta-bi he feels ' (fr. *knta-), cetu- (Gaul.
cintu-) ' first.'
§ 83. Long vowels are shortened l and treated like short vowels.
I.E. i- diphthongs become e, i (ce, § 164), u- diphthongs become
a (p. 60, footnote).
e.g. cdch (fr. *k v dk"os) ' every one,' proclitic each ' every.'
Changes in Consonant Groups resulting from Syncope
§ 84. De-aspiration.
(a) If two aspirated homorganic consonants, or an aspirated
and an unaspirated homorganic consonant are brought together
by syncope, the result is an unaspirated (originally double)
consonant. See § 86.
e.g. itech ( = ith-thech) ' granary,' nerto (fr. *nert-tho, *ner-
tathos, *nertatous) gen. sg. of nertad ' strengthening.'
i Some words, e.g. the particles ma ' when,' m 'not,' no 'or,' etc., could show
several grades of stress according to their position in the sentence ; hence they
may have preserved occasionally their original quantity or may have been even
lengthened (§ 54). But as a rule the respective vowels remain short.
30 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Exception. — When the spirants b (=v) and / come together,
the result is /.
e.g. Mid. I. derfiur ' sister ' fr. derb-fiur, I.E. *dervd-svesor
(§7).
(b) th and aspirated d give up their aspiration after a
preceding I, n, s, or before a following s.
e.g. ingantach ' wonderful ' fr. *ingntach, *in-gnathach, I.E.
*n-(jnotako- ; f&itsine ' prophecy ' (fr. *vdtist ! lnja).
Note. — th and aspirated d are sometimes analogically restored
before s. In this case the dental is afterwards assimilated
to the following s, e.g. fdithsine (through influence of faith
'prophet') and fdissine.
(c) Aspirated n and I give up their aspiration before t, d, s, n,
r, and after r, I. Cf. § 76.
e.g. an(n)sae ' difficult '( = an-assae) ; comairl(l)e ' counsel.'
(d) th has given up its aspiration after ch, though in most
instances th has been analogically restored.
e.g. nechtar ' either of two,' fr. *nek v o-teros.
Note. — The de-aspiration of d and th (§ 84 b) takes place also
before emphasising pronouns and affixed demonstrative
particles beginning with s.
e.g. in chrut-sin 'in that way'; do-adbat-som ' he shows '
(instead of doadbad som, older *doadbaid som; the
palatal quality of the d has been given up under the
influence of the following neutral s; cf. § 55 II.
exception). The deaspirated depalatalised / spread
analogically to other forms,
e.g. do-dliit ' brings down ' (instead of *do-dtid fr. *to-de-
vedh-et).
§ 85. Voicing of consonants.
Unvoiced spirants (§2) when coming together by syncope
with other (not homorganic) voiced consonants have a general
tendency to become voiced in accordance with the following
consonant. Cf. § 86 c.
e.g. aidber ' reproach ' fr. *ate-bhero- ; analogically also
aithber ; toibned ' let him pursue,' fr. *tofennath, O. C.
*to-svent-na-to.
PHONOLOGY 31
§ 86. Unvoicing of consonants.
(a) When a voiced (aspirated or unaspirated) consonant comes
by syncope next to a homorganic, unvoiced (aspirated or
unaspirated) consonant, the result is an unvoiced, unaspirated
(§ 84) consonant.
e.g. adgl&iter 'thou addressest' (fr. O. C. ad-gldde-tes+r);
trocaire ' mercy ' (fr. *trog-chaire, I.E. *treugho-larija).
(b) Aspirated d is unvoiced and deaspirated (§ 84) before or
after s. The sound of this unvoiced d (written t) does not exactly
correspond to the sound of the 0. Ir. tenuis t, as the former is
pronounced with much less expiratory breathing.
e.g. ad-suidi ' he keeps back,' but ni astai (fr. *-ad-sodit)
' he does not keep back.'
(c) Voiced spirants, when coming by syncope next to other
(not homorganic) unvoiced consonants, have a general tendency
to become voiceless in accordance with the following consonant.
But as this tendency is very often crossed by analogy, we find d
and th, g and ch, b and ph (/) written side by side in the same
word.
e.g. adaig (g from *ch, §73 6)' night,' gen. sg. aithche or
aidche (the d through influence of the nominative).
(d) Voiced spirants (§ 2) are unvoiced even if preceded by
another unvoiced unaspirated consonant, though by analogy the
voiced spirant has been restored almost in every case.
e.g. macthe ' childish/ though the suffix is -de fr. *-adjo-.
§ 87. Assimilation in consonant groups resulting from
syncope.
(a) On the assimilation of homorganic consonants, see §§ 84 a
and 86 a.
(b) Aspirated d and th have been assimilated to a following
ch, though only sporadically.
e.g. saaichnid ' well known ' fr. *su-aith-chnid, I.E.
*su + ate-gne-ti-.
§ 88. Influence of aspirated s.
(a) In the interior of simple words aspirated s (=h) vanishes
without leaving any trace.
32 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
e.g. t(a)ige nom. plur. of tech ' house ' fr. *(s)teges9.
(6) In some compounds aspirated and (originally) vowel-
flanked s unvoices every consonant with which it is brought
together by syncope, while in other compounds it is treated as
in the interior of simple words.
e.g. impu 'about them' fr. *mbhi + sons. Cf. § 65, note 2.
Note. — As proclitic words are treated together with the follow-
ing accented word like one word, an s that thus gets into
an intervocalic position is aspirated and treated like s in
certain compounds.
e.g. intathir 'the father' fr. *sind(o)sathir ; intsillab 'the
syllable ' fr. *sind(d)Hllaba.
Unvoicing of Initial Aspirated b
§ 89. Initial aspirated b has a tendency to become/, not only
at the beginning of a stressed or proclitic word but also occa-
sionally (the conditions are not quite clear) at the beginning of
a syllable. Much disturbance has been caused by analogy,
e.g. findfadach 'happy' fr. find + bethach.
Double Consonants
90. All intervocalic single consonants have become aspirated.
Therefore all unaspirated intervocalic consonants must have
been originally double consonants. Such double consonants
may originate from the assimilation of homorganic or non-hom-
organic consonants. (Cf. §§ 84, 86 and 91 ff.) Hence the ortho-
graphical peculiarities mentioned in § 1, i, 3, and 4. Even
during the 0. Ir. period the double stops and double s, m were
reduced to single consonants, though the orthography preserves
mostly the older state of things. In consonant-groups the
scribes prefer to write single consonants.
Note. — Unaspirated consonants, even where not resulting from
a double consonant, were very similar in sound to double
consonants ; their pronunciation was not only stronger but
also more prolonged than that of the aspirated consonants.
Hence they are frequently doubled in writing.
PHONOLOGY 33
The custom of writing p, t, c for the unaspirated media is
taken over from the British Celts.
e.g. ardd, art, ard 'high' fr. *ardvo-, I.E. *rdhvo-; cf.
further §1,2.
Genealogical History of Old Consonants and Consonant-
Groups not resulting from Syncope
§ 91. Initial and intervocalic Indo-European p and ph l dis-
appear in 0. Ir. But opn appears in 0. Ir. as nan, ps as ss,
pt as cht.
e.g. il ' much ' (n.) fr. *pelu, Got. Jilu.
te ' hot ' fr. *tepens, Lat. tepens.
swan ' sleep ' fr. *sop7ios, Welsh hun, Lat. somnus.
cacht ' bondmaid ' fr. *kaptd, Welsh caeth, Lat. capta.
§ 92. I.E. 6 and bh 1 become b (see §§7, 86, 88, 89) in 0. Ir.
bn becomes mn, bt is treated like I.E. pt. bn immediately
followed by the I.E. accent becomes p (bb).
e.g. cob ' victory ' fr. *kobo-, 0. Norse happ.
domun ' world ' fr. *dubnos, Lith. dugnas.
drucht ' dew ' fr. *drub-tus, cf. Engl. ' drip, drop.'
gop ' beak ' fr. *gob-nus ; cf. 0. Slav, sobati ' to eat.'
Cf. further §§ 5, 7, 84-89.
§ 93. I.E. t, th appear in 0. Ir. as t (see §§ 7, 72, 79, 80, 85). tb
becomes £> (bb). On tl, tn, tr, see § 109. tn immediately followed
by the I.E. accent becomes t(t). t-t in the interior of a word is
treated like st, in late compounds it becomes t(t).
e.g. roth ' wheel ' fr. *rotos, Welsh rhod ; cf. Lat rota.
/repaid ' healing ' fr. *vrt-bhutai (frith-buith), dat. sg.
oif repaid.
dit(t) ' place ' fr. *pot1in\- ; cf. Skr. pathas ' place.'
indrisse ' invaded ' fr. *-ret-tio-, past participle of
rethid ' runs.'
frit(t)obart ' opposition ' fr. *vrt-to-bherta ; cf. berid
' carries.'
tc becomes c(c), tg becomes c (gg).
e.g. frec(c)or ' cultivation ' fr. *vrt-korom (frith-cor).
1 I.E. ph, bh, th, etc. are not spirants, but stops + voiceless breathing h.
34 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
frecrae ' answer ' fr. *vrt-grja ( frith-gaire).
ts becomes ss.
e.g. inress ' that I should invade ' fr. *-ret-s-o.
§ 94. I.E. d, dh appear in 0. Ir. as d. Cf. §§ 7, 87.
On dr, dl, dn, see § 109.
dc becomes c(c), dg becomes c(gg).
e.g. -aicci ' sees' fr. -dc-cjet, *ad-his-et.
fo-acaib 'leaves' fr. *-ad-gliabh-i-t.
db becomes p (bb), ds becomes ss. d-t in the interior of a word
becomes ss, in composition t(t). On d-tl, see giall § 98, p. 3 F.
e.g. apaig ' ripe ' fr. *ad-bhogis ; cf. bongid ' cuts.'
-messur ' that I should judge' fr. *med-s-or; midithir
'judges.'
mess 'judgment' fr. *med-tus } but at(t)ach 'prayer,'
fr. *ad-tekom.
dm in composition becomes mm.
e.g. ammus ' attempt ' fr. *ad-med-tus.
dn immediately followed by the I.E. accent becomes
t (dd).
e.g. trot ' quarrel ' fr. *trud-nb- ; cf. Lat. trudo.
d(h)v becomes d.
e.g. dorus ' door ' fr. *dhvorestu ; cf. Lat. forum.
| 95. I.E. g, gh, g, gh, g% initial g" before u, postvocalic g v
before j and before consonants in the interior of a word become
g in 0. Ir.
This g is usually preserved in 0. Ir. (cf. §§7, 86).
e.g. grith ' heat ' fr. *g v hrtus ; cf. gor ' heat ' ; Lat. formus.
guth ' voice ' fr. *g v utus ; cf. Greek ftorj.
nigid ' washes ' fr. 0. C. *nigeti, 1 Greek vi^to.
On gl, gn, gr, see § 109.
g"t (gt, ght, etc.) becomes cht ; gs (^s, ghs, etc.) becomes ss.
e.g. ad-acht ' he drove ' fr. *ad-ag-to ; pres. ad-aig ' drives.'
do-tias ' that I should come ' fr. *to-(s)teigh-s-o.
gn immediately followed by the I.E. accent becomes c (gg).
e.g. boc ' soft ' fr. *bhug-nb-, Skr. bhugnd- ; cf. Anglo-Saxon
buc 'belly.'
1 Analogical transformation of I.E. *nig"jeti.
PHONOLOGY 35
§ 96. Initial I.E. g v (except before u) and g" in the interior
of a word (except in the cases mentioned in § 95) become b in
O. Ir. (see §§7, 86, 88, 89). Consonant groups beginning with
such a b are treated like other b groups (§ 92).
e.g. imb 'butter' fr. *yg"n, Lat. unguen.
mnd (gen. sg. of ben woman) fr. *bnas, I.E. *g v nds; ben
' woman ' fr. *g v end.
§ 97. I.E. k, kh, k, kh and k" appear in O. Ir. uniformly as c
<cf. §§ 7, 73, 85).
e.g. cet ' hundred ' fr. *kmtbm, Welsh cant, Lat. centum,
sechur ' I follow ' fr. *sek v or, Lat. seguor.
crenaim ' I buy ' fr. O. C. *k v ri-na-mi, Welsh prynaf;
cf. Skr. krlndmi.
On for, Id, fori, see § 109.
ht (Jet, kht, etc.) appears as cht, ks (ks, khs, etc.) as ss
e.g. ocht ' eight ' fr. *ofdo, Welsh wyth, Lat. octo.
coss ' foot ' fr. *koksa, Lat. coxa.
Before a media ks becomes k. This k is assimilated to a
following media. Hence ksg, ksb, ksd give k (gg), p (bb), t (dd).
e.g. ecal ' afraid ' fr. *eks-gaZo-.
epert 'saying' fr. *eks-bher-td.
On ksr, ksl, ksn, ksm, see § 109.
Also before a tenuis the s of the group ks seems to have been
lost before ks could become ss.
e.g. echtar ' outside ' fr. *eks-tris, Welsh eithr.
In compounds, which were formed at a time when ks had already
become ss, lest appears as st.
e.g. escarae 'enemy' fr. ess-\-carae 'friend.'
The same occurs in late compounds before medials.
e.g. esbae 'something useless' fr. ess-\-lde. (One expects *epae.)
fori (kn, khn, etc.) immediately followed by the I.E. accent
becomes c(c).
e.g. cnocc ' hill ' fr. *knok-nbs, Old High German hnac.
§ 98. Initial s (cf. § 79) remains intact before vowels, and
in the groups sk (sic, skh, etc.) skr, si, son, sn, sr ; sp becomes
36 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
s; spr becomes sr; spl becomes si; shn becomes sn; sv be-
comes s.
e.g. sen ' old ' fr. *seno-, Welsh hen ; cf. Lat. senex.
eciath 'shield' fr. *skeitos, Welsh ysgwyd; cf. Lat.
scutum, fr. *skoitom.
smir 'marrow' fr. *smeru-, Welsh mer; Old High
German smero ' grease.'
Cf. further sliab (§ 147), slond (§ 116, 3), siur (§ 7).
Aspirated initial sp, sv become / (b, § 85) ; aspirated initial
s{p)l, s(lc)n, sr become voiceless 11, nn, rr, also written si,
sn, sr.
e.g. mo jiur ' my sister ' fr. *svesor ; fuilliucht ' footprint '
fr. fo + sliucht.
Initial st(h) becomes s; 1 initial str becomes sr; initial stl
becomes si.
e.g. sellaim 'I gaze' fr. *stilpnomi, Welsh syllaf; cf. Greek
ariXirvo's ' shining.'
srath ' valley ' fr. *strato-, Welsh ystrad ; cf. Lat. stratus.
Intervocalic s becomes h and falls out (§ 88).
In the interior of a word st becomes ss, str remains, stn
becomes sn.
e.g. ross ' promontory ' fr. *pro-sth-om ; cf. Skr. prastha-s
' plateau.'
lestar ' vessel ' fr. *les-trom, Welsh llestr.
In the interior of a word sv becomes / (b § 74) ; sk (sic, skh,
etc.) remains ; sm, sn, become mm, nn.
e.g. sephainn, third sg. perf. of sennid ' plays,' fr. *sesvone.
(The nn in sennid ' plays ' is due to the influence of
sennid pursues, § 85).
am(m) (cf. § 81), ' I am ' fr. *esmi, Greek el/j,l.
bronn (gen. sg. of bru ' belly ') fr. *bhrusnos ; nom. sg.
fr. *bhruso ; cf. Engl, bredst.
sesc ' barren ' fr. *sisk-vo-, Welsh hysp ; cf. Zend hislcu-
' dry.'
In the interior of a word s(t)l (also s(t)l from d-tl, § 93) becomes
1 Even in I.E. times initial st and t freely interchanged in the same root,
hence -tiag ' I go' from the same root (* (s)teigh-) as Greek o-ret'xw.
PHONOLOGY 37
U. 8r after short vowels becomes rr, after long vowels probably
r, in composition rr.
e.g. giall ' hostage ' fr. *gheid-tlo-, Welsh givystl ; cf. Lithu-
anian geidziu ' I ask.'
coll ' hazel ' fr. *koslos, Welsh coll ; cf. Engl. ' hazel'
cir ' comb ' fr. *kesro- ; cf. Old Slavonic tesati ' to
comb.'
dirruicliguth 'derivation ' = di+sruithigud, fr. sruth
' river.'
§ 99. I.E. voiced s ( = z) appears only before the medial
explosives, zg and zb become dc (dgg) } db (dbb) with aspir-
ated d ; zd becomes t (dd).
e.g. medg ' whey ' fr. *mizga, Welsh maidd ; cf. Greek fitayco.
gat ' withe ' fr. *ghazdha, Lat. hasta.
§ 100. I.E. ' spirantic ' ft ( = p) appears after h, 1c, h\ k"h as
t (tenuis), after gh, gh, etc., as d (media).
e.g. art ' bear ' fr.- *rklpos, Lat. ursus, Greek ap«T09.
m-cZe ' yesterday ' fr. *-gh]>jes ) Welsh doe, Greek %#e<>.
6 l § 101. I.E. I appears in O. Ir. as I (11 § 76).
e.g. aile ' another ' fr. *aljos, Welsh ail, Lat. alius.
In, Is (also Ipn §98<x) becomes 11.
e.g. ad-ella ' visits ' fr. *-el-na-t ; cf. Greek eAaw.
aW ' rock ' fr. *palsos, older *p£sos ; cf. O. Norse fjall
' mountain.'
§ 102. I.E. r appears as r.
e.g. biur ' spear ' fr. *g v eru, Welsh 6er, Lat. 7;erw.
rs, rp, r#s, rcZs become rr, probably also rks and rts.
e.g. as-brr ' that I should strike ' fr. *eks-brg-s-o.
carr ' chariot ' fr. *krso-, Welsh car ; cf. Engl, horse,
rgt, rkt, rgst, rkst, rst become rt (t) ; rsk (rdsk, risk) becomes
rc(c).
e.g. as-brt 'he slew' fr. *eks-brg-t.
tart ' thirst ' fr. *tarsto- older Hrsto- ; cf. Engl. ' thirst'
§ 103. I.E. m appears as m ; final m had already become t&
in Gaulish.
e.g. rmiir ' sea ' fr. *mori ; Lat. mare.
38 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
nert n-athar ' strength of the father ' fr. *nerton atros,
I.E. *nertom pdtros.
mb (cf. § 96) is mostly preserved in accented syllables except
before consonants ; otherwise it has become m(m) ; mbr (mbl ?)
becomes br (bl ?).
e.g. imb-rddud ' meditation/ more commonly im-rddud, fr.
*imbi-rdditus, *m bhi-rodhitus.
cobraith ' help ' fr. *combrith, *kom-bhrtis.
md becomes nd, mv becomes v, and is treated like that (§ 112).
In later compounds mv becomes aspirated b.
e.g. condelgg ' counsel ' = com +delg.
do-cdid ' he went ' fr. *-kom-vddh-e.
cubus ' conscience ' fr. * kom-vid-tus.
On mt, mh, see § 108.
§ 104. T. I. n appears as n (nn, § 76).
noib ' holy ' fr. *noibo-, O. Persian naiba ' good.'
nb becomes mb, ml becomes 11 ; nr becomes rr.
e.g. imb ' butter ' (cf. § 96).
ellam ' ready ' (en-lam) ; cf. adblam (ad-fo-lam).
nd is mostly preserved in accented syllables except before con-
sonants ; in proclitic words it becomes regularly nn.
e.g. find 'white' fr. *vindo-, Welsh gwynn.
inna nom. pi. fern, of the article, fr. *sin + dds (I.E. tds).
ndn, ntn, ngn, nhn become nn.
e.g. ad-grennam ' we pursue ' fr. * -ghrendh-nd-mos.
-srennid ' you snore ' fr. *srenh-nj-te ; cf. Greek piy/co*.
On ns, nt, nk, nkt, see §§ 107, 108.
Sonants
§ 105. I.E. v I before vowels and j, v appear as ar al.
e.g. marb ' dead ' fr. *mrvo-, Welsh marw ; cf. Lat. mortuus.
talam ' earth ' fr. *thmo.
Before stops and liquids r, I appear as ri, li (re, le, § 113); before
kj> (§ 100), £>, s (or s + consonant) as ar, al\ before sn as ra, la.
e.g. breth ' carrying ' fr. *brita, older *bhrtd.
all 'rock' fr. *plsos (cf. § 101).
flann ' bloody, red ' fr. *vlsno-, Lat. vulnus ' wound.'
PHONOLOGY 39
I.E. f , I appear probably as ar al or rd Id. (Cf. § 131, footnote.)
e.g. ard ' high ' fr. *rdhvo-, Lat. arduus.
Ian 'full' fr. *plno-, Skr. purnah.
r, I that have been developed from vocalic r, I are treated before
consonants like consonantal r, I.
§ 106. I. E. m n appear before vowels and j, v, m, as am, an.
e.g. ban (gen. pi. of ben ' woman ') fr. *g v nom.
sam 'summer' fr. *smo-, cf. Engl, summer,
ainm ' name ' fr. *nmn, Welsh enw ; cf. Lat. nomen.
Final m n and m ?? before the tenues t, k become en.
m, n before the medials b, d, g become im, in (em, en § 113);
ygsm becomes emm. (Cf. ceimm § 145).
e.g.grend 'beard' fr. *ghrndhd ; cf. O. Norse gron 'moustache.'
imb ' butter.' (Cf. §§ 96,104.)
deich ' ten ' fr. *deken, older *dekm, Lat. decern.
On m n before k, t, s, see §§ 107, 108.
I. E. m n appear probably as am an or md nd, but certain
instances are scarce. (Cf. § 131, footnote.)
m, n that have been developed from vocalic m, n are treated before
consonants like consonantal m, n.
Compensatory Lengthening" of Vowels
§ 107. m, n have fallen out before s(s) (the ss may come
from gs, ks, ds, ts, or t-t). It does not matter whether m, n have
been developed from a vocalic m, n or not. Preceding short
vowels are lengthened ; a becomes 4.
e.g. geis ' swan ' fr. *ghansis ; cf. Germ. gans.
cessaid ' suffers ' fr. *kensati, older *kenttdti ; cf.
Lithuanian kenteti,
but nsk, nst give sc, st.
e.g. cose ' chastising ' fr. *fcom-sk v -om, Welsh cosp.
The vowel in the prepositions en-, com-, remains short before s.
e.g.cosnam 'contesting' (com+snim), esnaisse ' inserted' (en -\-snaisse).
Old final -ns became -as, hence O. Ir. -a.
e.g. riga (ace. pi. of ri ' king ') fr. *regns-
40 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
§ 108. m, n have fallen out before t, k, cht (from Jet or pt),
which appear as t (dd), k (gg), cJit. It does not matter whether
m, n have been developed from a vocalic m, n or not. All
preceding short vowels are lengthened before cht, while only a
and e are lengthened before t, Jc. a becomes e.
e.g. it 'jealousy' fr. *janto-, of. Welsh add-iant 'longing.'
ic ' death ' fr. *enkus, older *nkus ; cf. Lat. nex.
richtu ' reaching ' fr. 0. C. *rinJctju, = *ro-inktju ; pres.
ro-icc reaches.
But cocath ' battle ' fr. ^fcom-Jtatus, with short o.
§ 109. After a vowel in old groups consisting of a stop followed
by r, I, n the stop (when aspirated) drops out, while the preceding
vowel is lengthened. Only in the old groups tr, br (or tJir, bhr),
the consonants remain, ak becomes i.
e.g. dr ' slaughter ' fr. *agrom, Welsh aer ; cf. Greek aypa.
der ' tear ' fr. *daJcru, Greek Sdicpv.
fen ' wagon ' fr. *vegJmo- ; cf. O. Norse vagn.
sron 'nose' fr. *srokna, Welsh ffroen; cf. srennim
§ 104, with a different vowel-gradation.
in ' bird,' fr. *petno-, Welsh edn ; cf. German ' Feder.'
nil ' cloud,' fr. *nebhZos, Welsh ni(f)wl; cf. Lat. nebula.
but criathar ' sieve ' fr. *Jcreitro-, Welsh crwydr ; cf. O.
Engl. Jtridder.
dobor ' water ' fr. *dubro-, Welsh dwfr ; cf. 0. Slavonic
dibri 'valley.'
cretar ' relic ' fr. *JcredJird, Welsh creir.
In the old group d(Jt)r the d remained unaspirated, hence it
was preserved ; in words like dram ' number ' fr. *ad-rimd the
d had already become aspirated before the time when the com-
pound was formed, hence it fell out with compensatory
lengthening.
In the old groups Jcsr, ksl, Jcsn, the s has fallen out before Jcs
could become s. Hence compensatory lengthening takes place
just as in the groups Jcr, kl, Jen.
e.g. in(a)irt 'weak' fr. *eks-nerti-.
PHONOLOGY 41
Note. — Certain instances of compensatory lengthening before
m are very scanty and occur only in the case of gutturals.
e.g.fo-emid 'he is unable' fr. O. C. *-ek(s)-med-i-t; cf. Welsh
meddu 'to be able.' (ksm has very early become km.)
Loss of Consonants by Haplology
§ 110. In words of more than two syllables an intervocalic
consonant may be thrown out when followed by the same con-
sonant. When the last consonant stood between o and e, i, the
diphthong oi was produced.
e.g. for-roichain ' he has taught ' fr. O. C. -*rb-ke-kan-e,
pres. for-cain ' teaches.'
coim(m)ihecht ' accompaniment ' (com-imm-thecht).
Note. — In words like
foit ' mission ' instead of *foidiuih (ending *-itus)
both dentals have coalesced, while the vowel of the second
syllable has been thrown out. The t represents the voice-
less stop (§ 1, 4), just as in -tuit (§ 210, note 3). Cf. § 86.
This treatment seems to be confined to dentals.
Semi-Vowels
§ 111. I.E. j disappears in O. Ir.
e.g. ode ' young ' fr. *jovnlco-, I.E. *jevn-ko, Welsh ieuanc ;
cf. Lat. juvencus, Engl, young,
-tdu ' I am ' fr. *{s)tha-jo; cf. Lat. stare ' to stand.'
When immediately preceded hy u, v, or a consonant 1 it had de-
veloped an i before it. Hence unstressed syllables preceded by a
post- vocalic consonant (or u, v)+j are never entirely thrown out.
e.g. coire ' cauldron ' fr. *lc"arijos, I.E. *k v rjos, Welsh pair ; cf.
Skr. 6aru-s.
Onj in final syllables, cf. § 46.
§ 112. v is thus dealt with :
1. Initial v appears as /.
e.g. fid 'tree' fr. *vidus, Welsh givydd,0. High German witu.
2. Post-consonantal v disappears except after aspirated d, I,
n,r (not followed byu in O. Ir.), where it is written 6(pronounced v).
^.g. ardd 'high' (with unaspirated d), fr. *fdhvo- cf. § 105,
but fedb ' widow ' (with aspirated d) fr. *vidhvd, Welsh
gweddiv ; cf. Engl, widow.
1 Bat not after a single initial consonant (cf. -de, § 100, fr. O. C. *-djes).
42 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
On mv, see § 103. On sv, see § 98. On d(h)v, see § 94.
3. As regards intervocalic v (also when from mv, § 103) pre-
ceded bv a stressed vowel, 1 the treatment varies according to the
quality of the surrounding vowels.
We must distinguish between
(a) v before a final palatal vowel, with which it had coalesced
before the loss of final syllables,
(/3) v before a lost a or o in final syllables,
(y) v before a lost U (also u from 6, § 118) in final syllables,
(8) v in the interior of dissyllabic words (after the loss of final
syllables),
(«) v in the interior of words of more than two syllables (after
the loss of final syllables).
a. av (dv) appears
(a) as oi.
e.g. ad-doi ' kindles ' fr. *ad-ddv-et, cf. Greek Baico ; Skr.
dava-s * fire.'
(/3) and (7) as du, later do, 6.
e.g. gdu, gdo, gd ' lie ' fr. *g)idvd ; cf. Greek xavvos.
(6) probably regularly as 6 (older du, e.g. due ' descen-
dant,' later 6{a)e, u(a)e) ; in later O. Ir. this o becomes
u before preserved final vowels (§§ 44-46).
e.g. con-6'ith 'you preserve' fr. *-ave-te, cf. Skr. avati
' protects.'
god, later gxid, fr. *ghdvds > ace. pi. of gdu.
(On the quality of the following vowels, see §§ 44-46, 58.)
(e) before o as u.
e.g. gu- fr. *gh<)vo-, compositional form of gdu (in gii-
brithemnacht 'false judgment,' etc.).
b. dv (fr. I.E. dv or dv) appears
(a) as oi.
e.g. noi, fr. *navi, I.E. *ndvdi, dat. sg. of %du ' ship ' ;
(/3) as du (later d).
e.g. gno (older *f/-?idu) ' beautiful, active,' fr. *gndvo- ; cf.
Lat. (g)ndvus.
(7) as d (older 6u).
1 On the development in proclitic words see § 81, exception 3.
In enclitic final position a + v +a, o, n become u.
e.g. immurgu ' however ' =imm + ro + giiu (I.E. *<jhdvd).
PHONOLOGY 43
e.g. gno (older gnon), dat. sg. inasc. of gno (fr. *gnavu,
I.E. *jnavoi) ;
(S) as o.
e.g. noe fr. *navjas, gen. sg. of 7i<xw.
C. ev very early became ov and was treated like that.
d. ev very early became %v and was treated like that.
e. After O. Ir. 4, la (fr. I.E. m) v disappears without leaving
any trace.
e.g. de fr. *deivi, gen. sg. of dla 'god.' -'" '" ;i ~-
cZia fr. *deivos, Lat. divus, Skr. devds. / >^ - " ~^ s
f. I. E. iv appears
(a) as i.
e.g. 6i fr. *g v ivi, gen. sg. of 6e'o 'alive.'
(/3) as eu, eo.
e.g. 6<m, beo fr. *bevos, I.E. *g v ivos, Welsh 6^/w ; cf. Lat,
vivus.
(y) as m.
e.g. biu fr. *bivu, I.E. *g v ivoi, dat. sg. of &eo.
(8) as i.
e.g. /ms ' I shall light ' fr. *vi-vik-s-o, 1st sg. fut. offccltid ;
cf. Lat. vincere, 0. High German ivihan.
(On the quality of the following vowels see §§ 44-46, 58.)
(e) before d, o as e, before e, i, u as i.
e.g. bethu ' life ' fr. *bevotus, I.E. *g v ivo-tut-s, Welsh bywyd.
g. After 0. Ir. I (fr. I.E. e, i) v disappears without leaving
any trace.
e.g. II ' colour ' fr. *livis, Welsh lliw ; cf. Gaulish Livius.
h. ov and ev appear,
(a) as oi.
e.g. oi ' sheep,' fr. *ovis, Lat. ovls.
(fi) as o.
e.g. bo fr. *g'ovos, gen. sg. of 6d ' cow.'
(7) as u.
(8) before d, o, e as J, before e, %, u as u.
e.g. do-coid ' he went ' fr. *-cbvade, I.E. *-fwm-vddh-e ; pres,
-dichet ' he can go.' Cf. rule 4 below.
-mie ' new ' fr. *nevijo-, Welsh newydd ; cf. Lat. novus.
44 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
6ac 'young,' cf. § 111.
fuar ' preparation ' comes f r. *upo-vr-om ; pres. fo-fera ' prepares.
(On the quality of the following vowels, see §§ 44-46, 58.)
(e) before & as 6.
e.g. do-cotar ' they went ' fr. *cbvad . . . *kom-vcidh . . .
before o as 6, ua or u ; before u probably as u.
e.g. duilgine ' reward ' fr. *do-vo-laug-inja (cf. § 55 II. note).
tobae 'cutting' fr. *to-vo-bijon, I.E. *-u r po-bhijom.
tiiaichle ' slyness ' fr. *to-vo-cellija, I.E. -*k v eisl(i)jd.
The treatment before e, i presents likewise many difficulties.
A good example (with vowel-contraction) is toi&ech l leader ' fr. *to-vid-
tjdJcos j cf . Welsh tywijsog fr. *to-vid-tdkos (Ogam gen. tovisdci), root vid c to
know.'
The relation of Mid. Ir. nuna 'famine' if fr. *novinjd *nevinjd,
Welsh newyn (fr. *nowyn), cf. Goth, naufis, to 0. Ir. noine (Thes. II. 256),
is very puzzling.
(cf. further § 126, l.).
i. uv appears,
(a) as ui.
e.g. drui ' druid ' fr. *dru-vid-s.
(/3) as 6, (<y) as u. Certain instances are very scanty.
(8) before e, %, 4, j, as u, before d, o as 6.
e.g. drudd fr. *dru-vid-os, gen, sg. of drui.
(On the quality of the following vowels see §§ 44-46, 58.)
(e) The material is very scanty. There is the same diffi-
culty as in the case of ov. uvu gives of course u.
4. After unstressed vowels in final syllables intervocalic v has
sometimes vanished without leaving any trace,
e.g. ctialae ' he has heard ' fr. *ku-lclov-e.
But in the interior of a word it had absorbed in certain cases the
preceding vowel or had vanished already before the time of syncope.
Thus hove gives k"e.
Examples : airde ' sign ' fr. *pre-vid-jom, Welsh arwydd ; root vid
' to know.' -dichet ' he can go ' fr. *di-k v ed, -*kovedet, *fcom-
vedh-et (on the final t see § 84 d, note) ; root vedh ' to lead ' ;
cf . Lith. vedii ' I lead.'
PHONOLOGY 45
Short Vowels
§ 113. I.E. 9 1 and a (also a which has been developed in
Celtic from I.E. r, I, m, n, §§ 105, 106)
appear
1. regularly as a.
e.gf. aile ' another ' ; cf. 5 46.
athir ' father ' fr. * pdter, Lat. pater, Skr. pitd.
2. By the end of the archaic period au — which had been developed
from a, preceded by I or a labial or guttural (+r), and followed by u
coloured consonants — became u.
Examples : mug, arch. 0. Ir. maug ' slave ' fr. O. C. *magus, Cornish
maw ; lugu, arch, laugu, ' smaller,' f r. Hagus, I.E. *hg v hjds ; cf .
§ 65, 3.
3. a preceded by a labial or guttural (+r) appears before certain palatal
consonants as o or u. It is very difficult to make out the definite
rules governing this change, which is later than the change of o to u.
Examples : coire 'cauldron' cf. § 111.
muig fr. O. C.*mages, dat. sg. of mag 'field.'
4. asfior^; cf. §§ 54, 107-109.
5. on av see § 112, 3 a.
6. as o under the conditions mentioned above (2), when followed by
O. C. -ou- or -0V-, e.g. mogo, gen. sg. of mug.
§ 114. I.E. e (also e which has been developed in Celtic from
I.E. m, n, H 105, 106)
appears
1. as e.
a. in old monosyllables where the final consonants have not
been lost (§ 43)
e.g. -bert ' he carried ' fr. *bher-t.
b. when the following syllable contained Pr. Ir. d, o, ai, oi* 6
which had not become u (§ 48), or e (but not e in hiatus — i.e. e(s)-,
e(j)-, e(p)-+ vowel — nor e preceded by ng), e, provided these
vowels were preceded by consonants (but cf. §§ 107-109).
e.g. cerd 'craft' fr. *kerdos, Welsh cerdd, Greek /cepSo?.
berid ' carries ' fr. *bher-e-ti ; cf. Lat. fero, Greek (pepco.
medo (gen. sg. of mid 'mead'), fr. *medos, I.E. *medhous.
c. when the following syllable contained e in hiatus or u, i,
1 So-called sKva, a reduced vowel sound (cf. § 12S) like the initial a in 'appear.'
2 But cf. § 122, note.
46 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
j, provided they were preceded by voiceless t(t), s(s), th, ch or
by a group of two or more consonants, with exception of ng
mb, nd and perhaps some other groups. (But cf. §§ 107-109.)
e.g. eich fr. *ekvi, gen. sg. of ech ' horse.'
mesccte'drunkenness 'fc*medh-sk(i)ja; cf. Greek fieSvatc co ;
serbu (comparative of serb ' bitter,' Welsh chwenv;
cf. Greek %ep6<i) fr. *servjus, I.E. *kservjos.
2. as e.
a. in the case mentioned in § 54.
b. when the e was originally followed by o or a coloured
consonants which caused compensatory lengthening of a pre-
ceding vowel (§§ 107-109).
e.g. tren ' strong' fr. *treg-no-; cf. 0. Norse \re\c 'strength';
set 'way' fr. *sentus, Welsh hynt, O. High German
sind 'journey.'
(On e"u, do, iu, see rule 4 below.)
3. as i.
a. in hiatus (resulting from the loss of vowel-flanked p, j, s),
before all vowels, except before e.
e.g. lach (gen. sg. of eo, ' salmon ') fr. *eoch, 0. C. *esok-os,
Welsh eog.
Note. — Every e in hiatus before a non-palatal vowel had become (i)j
in unstressed syllables.
See nime below.
b. when the following syllable contained Pr. Ir. %, j, u (also
when from o), u or e in hiatus, provided these were preceded
by single consonants (except voiceless t(t), s(s), th, ch), or the
groups nd, Tab, ng.
e.g. mid 'mead' fr. *medhu, Welsh medd, Greek fxiOv, Skr.
mddhu.
nime (gen. sg. of nem ' heaven ') fr. *nemjos, *nemeo8,
I.E. *nemesos.
siniu ' older ' fr. *senjos, Lat. senior.
c. when the folloAving syllable contained e preceded by ng.
e.g. cingid ' steps,' fr. *khengeti, cf. O. High German hinkan
' to limp.'
4. as eo, iu, in, when short e was originally followed by con-
sonants, the dropping of which has been discussed in § 109. But
PHONOLOGY 47
the diphthong only appears in final syllables or in stressed non-
final syllables before palatal or u-coloured consonants.
e.g. treuin, triuin fr. Hreg-nl ; gen. sg. masc. oitren ' strong.'
The u (o) is a survival of the lost consonant.
eeneul, ceniul fr. *kenetloi, dat. sg. of cenel ' race.'
(On this u, see § 19 exception.)
5. as a, under conditions which are not quite clear. It seems
that the change took place only after certain consonants before
a palatal g.
e.g. taig fr. *(s)teges, dat. sg. of tech ' house.'
graig ' herd ' fr. an oblique case of Lat. grex, gen. gregis.
But lige ' bed ' fr. *leghjom.
6. On ev, see § 112, 3 c.
§ 115. I.E. i (also i which has been developed in Celtic from
LE.r, l,m,n, §§105,106).
appears
1. as i.
a. in old monosyllables where the final consonants have not
been lost (§ 43).
b. when the following syllable contained Pr. Ir. e, e, or a (also
u from o), i,j (but cf. §§ 107-109).
e.g. ith ' corn ' fr. *pitus, Welsh yd, Skr. pitu-s ' nourishment.'
fir fr. *vire, voc. sg. of/er 'man.'
c. when the following syllable contained Pr. Ir. d, ai, oi, o, or
o, provided these vowels were preceded by the consonant group
nd or n + stop +n.
e.g. find 'white' fr. *vindo-, *vindcl, Welsh gwynn, fern*.
givenn, Greek IvSoWo/jlccl ' I appear.'
ro-finnadar ' he knows ' fr. 0. C. *-vind-na-tro.
d. in hiatus in dissyllabic words.
e.g. sciad (gen. pi. of see 'hawthorn' fr. *slc"ijat-s) fr.
*sh%jatdm,'We\shysbyddad; cf.Lith. skujd 'pointed leaf.'
2. as e.
a. when the following syllable contained &, ai, oi, 1 o or o which
had not become u, except when these vowels were preceded by
nd or n + stop + n.
e.g.fedo (gen. sg. of fid 'tree' fr. vidus) ir*vidd8, I.E. *vidous.
1 But cf. § 122, note.
48 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
fer ' man ' fr. *viros, Welsh gwr, Lat. vir.
3. as <?.
a. when e which had been developed from i according to the
rule given above (2. a) came into final position (cf. § 54.)
e.g. cU ' left ' fr. *fdijo-, fdija-, Welsh cledd, Lat. clivius
' unlucky.'
b. when (stressed or unstressed) e which had been developed
from i was originally followed by consonants causing com-
pensatory lengthening of a preceding vowel (§§ 107-109).
e.g. cuilen 'whelp' fr. *kulegno, *kulignos, I.E. Vcolignos,
Welsh colwyn.
4. as i.
a. when the i which had not been changed to e (see above,
2 a) was originally followed by consonants which cause compen-
satory lengthening of a preceding vowel (§§ 107-109), except in
the case mentioned in rule 5 below.
e.g. richtu 'reaching'; see § 108.
b. in the case mentioned in § 54.
5. as iu, eo, eu.
when the i which had not been changed to e, was originally
followed by consonants, the dropping of which has been dis-
cussed in § 111. The diphthong only appears in final syllables
or in stressed non-final syllables before palatal or w-coloured
consonants.
e.g. cuiliuin (nom. pi. of cuilen, 3 b) fr. *kuligni, *koligni,
I.E. *kolignoi.
6. as u.
when originally preceded by fcr- and followed by a palatal
or u coloured consonant.
e.g. cruim ' worm ' fr. *k v rimis, I.E. *Jc"rmis, Welsh pryf,
Skr. krmi-s.
cruth ' shape, manner ' fr. *k v ritus, I.E. *fc'rtus, Welsh
j)ryd ; cf. Skr. sa-lcrt ' once. 1
7. on iv, see § 112, 3 f.
§ 116. I.E. o appears.
1. as o.
a. in old monosyllables where the final consonants have not
been lost (§ 43.)
PHONOLOGY 49
e.g. ort ' he slew ' fr. *orcht, I.E. *org-t ; 3. sg. pret. of orgaid.
b. when the following syllable contained Pr. Ir. a, o, ai, ol, 1 o,
which had not become u (§ 48) or e (but not e in hiatus nor
unsyncopated e preceded by single aspirated b or m) provided
these vowels were preceded by consonants (but cf. §§ 107-109.)
e.g. torad ' fruit ' fr. *to-ret-om ; cf. rethid ' runs.'
govt ' garden, field ' fr. *ghortos, Welsh garth, Lat. hortus,
Greek ^6pro<;.
c. When the following syllable contained e in hiatus or u, %,j,
provided these were preceded by voiceless t(t), s(s), th, or by a group
of two or more consonants except mb,nd, (m)ml, (m)7nr, ggr (cr),
ggl (cl), and the aspirated groups ml, mr (but cf. §§ 109-111.)
e.g. roiss (gen. sg. of ross ' promontory ' *pro-st]i-om, Welsh
rhos, Skr. prastha-s) fr. *pro-sth-i.
rose (dat. sg. of rose ' eye ' fr. *pro-sk v -om ; the same root with
a different vowel gradation in sechithir ' follows/ Lat. sequitur)
fr. *pro-sk v -oi.
The treatment of -och- followed by u, f, j is doubtful. Cf . Mid. Ir.
scuchaid ' departs' besides 0. Ir. fo-scoichet 'they go away,' Welsh ysgogi,
'to stir.' Cf. also § 65, 2, note 1.
2. as 6
(which became ua in the course of the 0. Ir. period except
in final position and in some other instances).
a. in the case mentioned in § 54.
b. when the o was originally followed by consonants which cause
compensatory lengthening of a preceding vowel (§§ 107-109).
e.g. buain ' reaping, striking ' fr. *bhog-nis ; cf. apaig § 94.
sron 'nose,' see § 109.
3. as u.
a. when the following syllable contained Pr. Ir. i, j, u (also u
from 6) or e in hiatus, provided these were preceded by single
consonants (except voiceless t(t), s(s), th) or the groups mb, nd,
{m)ml, {m)mr, ggr (cr), ggl(cl), and the aspirated groups ml, mr.
e.g. ad-suidi 'he delays' fr. *ad-sodit; the same root
with a different vowel-gradation in Welsh sedd ' seat,'
Lat. sedeo, etc. Cf. § 130.
1 But cf. § 122, note.
D
50 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
slund (dat. sg. of slond ' appelation ') fr. *splondoi ; the same
root with a different vowel-gradation in Lat. splendeo ' I shine.'
guin ' wounding ' fr. *g v honi ; cf. Greek <f>6vo<;.
On ch see above, rule lc.
b. when the following syllable contained unsyncopated e
preceded by single aspirated b or m.
e.g. cuman ' recollection ' *kom-meno- (cf. § 103.) The same
root in toimtiu *to-men-tjo ' opinion.'
as-rubart ' he has said ' (arch, -rubert) fr. *els-pro-bher-t.
4. as a
(though o is often analogically restored).
a. under certain conditions which are not quite clear, when
the next syllable contained or contains d.
e.g. do-rat ' he has given ' ; ni tared (fr. * tor at) ' he has not
given.'
ro-batar ' they have been ' ; ni rdbatar (beside analogical
rbbatar) ' they have not been.'
b. when preceded by / and followed by palatal consonants
before old e.
e.g. fa(i)dirc ' conspicuous ' fr. *fodirc, *wpo-derki-.
5. On ov, see § 112, 3h, on op see § 91.
(On I.E. ft; see § 112, 3 b.)
§ 117. I.E. u appears.
1. as u.
a. in old monosyllables where the final consonants have not
been lost (§ 43).
b. when the following syllable contained Pr. Ir. e or % (also u
from o) i,j.
e.g. sruth ' river ' fr. *srutus, Welsh ffrwd ; cf. Skr. sravati
' flows.'
buith (dat. sg. of both 'to be ' fr. *bhuta) fr. *buti, I.E.
*bhutdi.
2. as u.
a. in the case mentioned in § 54.
e.g. tru ; see § 54 ; cf. Lat. trux.
b. when the u (in the case of § 109 only u which had not
become o, see rule 3 below) was originally followed by con-
PHONOLOGY 51
sonants which cause compensatory lengthening of a preceding
vowel (§§ 107-109).
e.g. Cronuin (gen. sg. of Cronon fr. *Cronugnos) fr.
*Cronugni (proper name) ; the 0. C. form is uncertain ; cf. cron
' yellow, swarthy ' ;
3. as o
when the following syllable contained Pr. Ir. cl, ai, oi, 1 o or 6
which had not become u.
e.g. cloth ' fame ' fr. *klutom, Greek kXvtov ; cf. Welsh clod
fr. *lduta.
both ' hut ' fr. *bhutct, Welsh bod ; cf. Lith. bidas.
4. as 6, (which became ua during the course of the O. Ir.
period except in final position and some other instances).
a. when the o which had been developed from u according to
the rule given above (3.) came into final position,
b. when o, which had been developed from u was originally
followed by consonants, which cause compensatory lengthening
of a preceding vowel (§§ 107-109).
e.g. bron ' sorrow ' fr. *bhrugh-nos, Welsh brwyn ; cf. Greek
/3pv%<» ' gnash the teeth.'
cucdae ' he heard,' arch, cole, fr. *fcufclove, Mid. Welsh cigleu ;
3 sg. perf. of ro-cluinethar ' hears ' j cf. Greek k\vo).
Note. — Before intervocalic p I.E. u has fallen together with v ; hence
*upo gives O. C. *vo, O. Ir. fo 'under.'
Long Vowels
§ 118. I.E. a and o appear both as a. (a and 6 were short-
ened 2 before final m, n and m, n-\- consonant and treated like
old a and o.)
e.g. fdith ' poet ' fr. *vdtis, cf. Welsh gwawd ' song of praise,'
Lat. vdtes ' prophet.'
gndth ' usual ' fr. *gnoto-, Welsh gnawd, Lat.
(g)notus, Greek yvcoros.
meit ' size,' Welsh maint, fr. *manti, I.E.
*ma-ntl; the same root in mdr 'great,' Welsh
mawr, fr. *ma-ro-.
Final stressed o, and o in unstressed final syllables (except
1 But cf. § 122 note. 2 See footnote on next page.
52 A CONCISE OLD IKISH GRAMMAR
before m, n, § 45, exception, and when proclitic, p. 60 footnote)
have become u.
e.g. cii ' dog' fr. fcvo, Welsh ci ; Skr. svd.
firu (ace. pi. of fer ' man ') fr. *virons ; voc. pi. firu fr.
*viros.
(On av, 6v, see § 112, 3 b.)
§ 119. I.E. e and £ appear both as £. (f and e were short-
ened 1 before final m, ?& and m, n + consonant and treated like
old e and i.)
e.g. lin ' number ' fr. *plenu ; cf. Lat. plenus ' full.'
rim ' number' fr. *rimd, Welsh rhif, 0. Engl. rim.
In final unstressed syllables e seems to have been preserved as e.
e.g. cbmaln(a)ithe (-de, § 72) 'fulfil' fr. 0. C. *kom-ldnd-tes ; 2 sg.
imper. of comaln(a)ithir 'fulfils.'
(On I.E. ev, tv, see § 112, 3 d, g.)
§ 120. I.E. u appears as u.
e.g. run ' secret ' fr. * runa, Welsh rhin, 0. Engl. run.
Short Diphthongs
§ 121. u diphthongs.
I.E. au, 9u, eu, ou appear as 6. In the course of the 0. Ir. period
this 6 gradually becomes ua (save before uT). Cf. § 116, 2.
e.g. log, luach ' price ' fr. *ldu-gom ; cf. Gothic laun.
tuath ' people ' fr. *teutd, Welsh tud, Goth, piuda.
niad 'red' fr. *roudho-, Welsh rhudd, Lat. rufus,
Lith. raudd ' red colour.'
Note 1. — In hiatus (produced by the loss of intervocalic^, s,j)
O.C. au eu ou are treated like av-, ev-, ov-. (Cf. § 112.)
e.g. du, 6 ' ear ' fr. avos, *ausos ; cf. Lat. auris, Goth.
auso ; dat. sg. oi, 6e fr. *aves. *auses.
Note 2. — Final stressed au is preserved in 0. Ir. as du, later do, 6.
Note 3. — Final unstressed -eu, -ou had early become J and acted like
o upon the preceding consonants. (On proclitic u- diphthongs see § 83.)
1 The shortening of long vowela before liquid + consonants must be later than
the loss of nasals before s (§ 107).
Hence ace. pi. firu fr. *virus, older *viros, I.E. *vir5ns. A form *virona
would have given 0. Ir. *fero ; cf. *sechtmo(jo ' 70' fr. *se.j)tmmo-kQTnt-x.
PHONOLOGY 53
-eus, -ous had become 6s and are preserved in 0. Ir. as -o, later -a.
e.g. betho (gen. sg. of biih ' world '), fr. *g l 'itous.
§ 122. i diphthongs.
I.E. ai, di appears as ai (de).
e.g. cdech ' one-eyed ' fr. *kaiko-, Welsh coeg ' empty,' Lat.
cuecus ' blind.'
I.E. oi appears as oi (6e).
e.g. oin, oen ' one ' fr. *oino-, Welsh un, 0. Lat. oinos, Goth.
ains.
Even during the 0. Ir. period ai (de) and oi (6e) have fallen
together in some instances.
e.g. main beside moin ' treasure ' fr. *moinis; cf. Lat. munus, Goth.
ga-mains • common.'
I.E. ei appears before palatal consonants and in hiatus as e,
before non-palatal consonants as ia (arch. 4a, e).
e.g. sciath ' shield,' see § 98 ;
gen. sg. sceith fr. *skeit%.
The treatment of final ei varies,
e.g. da ' who ? ' fr. *Jc v ei,
but -te (3 sg. pres. subj. of -tiag, *(s)teighd 'I go') fr.
* '-(s)teigh-s-t.
Note. — Unstressed final -ai, -oi act like t upon the preceding con-
sonants. (On proclitic i- diphthongs see § 83.)
e.g. fir ' men ' fr. Pr. Ir. *virl, older *viroi.
(On a, e, o before liquid + consonant, see §§ 101-104, 107, 108.)
Long Diphthongs
§ 123. In most cases long dipthongs have been shortened very
early and are treated like the corresponding short diphthongs.
e.g. tuaith (dat. sg. of hiath 'people') fr. *teutai, older
*teatai ; sia ' longer ' (compar. of sir ' long ' fr. *se-ro-),
fr. *seis, older *seis (stem se+ compar. ending -is),
Welsh lavy, cf. Lat. serus ' late.'
Note 1. — This shortening is later than the change of to a or v.
e.g. fiur (dat. sg. offer ' man ') fr. *viru, *virui, *viroi (cf. § 124.)
Note 2. — In final stressed position du, 6u become uu (later do, 6) ; £u
becomes iu ; ai, oi become ai. ei is always treated like ei.
e.g. ddu ' two,' fr. *dv6u, Welsh dau, Skr. dvau.
54 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Note 3. — In hiatus (produced by the loss of intervocalic p, s,j) du,
ou are treated like dv- ; eu, lu are treated like iv-.
e.g. ro-brid (3 sg. subj. of bronnaid, *bhrus-nd-ti, ' hurts ') ; fr.
*-brtv-dt, *bhreu-s-dt ; cf. Welsh briwo 'to hurt.' Cf. § 121,
note 1.
§ 124. Under certain conditions the second element of long
diphthongs has been dropped. This dropping is much older
than the shortening of the first element.
e.g. die 'day' fr. *dijes (see § 119), Welsh dydd, Lat. dies,
older *djZus, Skr. djdu-s ' sky.'
(On a, e, 6 before m, n + consonant , see §§ 118-120.)
Vowel Contraction
§ 125. When two vowels came together in 0. Ir. owing to
the loss of an intervocalic j, s, f (on hiatus produced by the loss
of intervocalic v, see § H2 3 ), these vowels either kept their
proper syllabic function and remained in hiatus, or they coalesced
(provided the second vowel was not thrown out by syncope).
In the latter case two identical vowels give the corresponding
long vowel: d+e, I gives ai (tie); d+o gives o; d+ti gives du,
later do, 6; e + o,u gives eo, eu; % + u gives iu ; + d gives o ; o + B
l gives oi (6e) ; u+i gives ui. i-\-a and u+a coalesce only (but
cf. note.) in proclitic position ; the result is a diphthong ia, ua,
with short i and u, while the i and u in the diphthongs ia and
ua (from e and o) are long.
Note. — The quantity of stressed hiatus-vowels varies at different
periods. By the beginning of the 0. Ir. period all long vowels had
been shortened in hiatus, e.g. at-tdam ' we are ' (fr. *ad-sthd-jo-mos) ; but
in the course of the 0. Ir. period all hiatus-vowels were lengthened
without regard to their original quantity. Towards the end of the
0. Ir. period all hiatus-vowels were contracted, u, i-\-a in stressed syllables
became tia, ia.
§ 126. We must distinguish between
1. Vowels in the interior of words of more than two syllables
(after the loss of final syllables). Here we should regularly
expect the loss of the second vowel by syncope.
e.g. fochaid ' tribulation ' fr. *fo-saigid, *upo-sDgidis.
There remain, however, some doubtful instances. See § 112, 3 h, «.
PHONOLOGY 55
Note 1. — Vowel-flanked p has been dropped very early, so that the
surrounding vowels have in some instances coalesced already before
the time of syncope.
e.g. cdera 'sheep' fr. *Jcaper-dJcs ; cf. Lat. caper 'goat.'
but timme ' heat ' fr. *temmijd, older *tepesmijd ; cf. U ' hot '
fr. *tepen$.
Note 2. — In compounds the second vowel has sometimes been
restored by influence of the respective simple words,
e.g. estoasc beside estosc ' pressing out ' (*ess-to-fasc).
Note 3. — Vowels between which no consonant has been lost have
sometimes been contracted before the time of syncope (see rule 4 below),
e.g. ara-foima ' that he may assume ' fr. *-fo-ema, *-uj)o-em-dt (cf.
§211,14).
2. Vowels in words ending in a consonant (in 0. Ir.) which were
dissyllabic after the loss of final syllables. Here, as a rule, no
contraction takes place (cf. § 125 note), but when the lost con-
sonant was p, certain short vowels which are liable to contraction
(§ 125) seem to have coalesced.
e.g. deec, later dedc ' ten' (gen.) ir.*dvei-penk v ou (' twice five').
siilr ' sister ' fr. *svesor.
scidd, see § 115, 1 d.
but iar n ' after ' fr. *er, *eperom ; cf. Goth, afar, Skr. apara.
Note. — In proclitic position contraction takes place very often,
though not regularly.
e.g. didr cobair ' to aid us.' (Fel.)
3. Vowels in words ending in a vowel (or a consonant which
had been dropped according to the rule given in § 43), which
were dissyllabic after the loss of final syllables. Here contrac-
tion is regular in the case of d+ any vowel, B+l, o, to; % + %, 4;
tf+I, % o; ti+l, U and perhaps some other instances which
owing to the want of material cannot be properly ascertained.
The following vowels were never (but cf. § 125 note) con-
tracted : o + d, ; e, o or u (when from an u diphthong or Old Celtic
a, o + v) + any vowel; l + d, e, o.
e.g. -tdu, -to ' I am' fr. *taju, *(s)thdjo; bin ' I am wont to
be ' fr. *bJivijo.
Note 1. — Monosyllables which are the result of vowel-contraction
are often made dissyllabic by analogy.
56 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
e.g. ffiu ' towards them ' (beside regular friu) by influence of
frie ' towards her,' etc.
Note 2. — Vowels which cannot be contracted in stressed dissyllabic
words may coalesce in proclitic words,
e.g. dia chorpdn 'to his body' (Feb).
4. In old genuine compounds the final vowel of a prefix has been
thrown out before an immediately following vowel (or p + vowel),
e.g. siar (so-iar § 126,2) 'to the west'; tadall (*to-ad-elnom)
' visit.'
In late formations contraction may take place, cf. § 126
note 3.
Vowel Gradation or Ablaut
§ 127. I.E. roots containing e (ei, eu), or a (ai, du), e (ei, eu), o
(oi, du) show several grades of vowels. The vowels and diph-
thongs mentioned represent the chief instances of the so-called
normal vowel grade.
e.g. seiss, ' he will sit ' fr. *sed-s-ti
mel(a)im ' I grind ' fr. *mel-o-mi ;
-Hag ' I go ' fr. *(s)teigh~d ;
-tdu ' I am ' fr. *(s)tha-jo ;
sil ' seed ' fr. *se-lo-m ;
ddn ' gift ' fr. *do-nu-s.
§ 128. In I.E. unstressed syllables the root vowels take the
reduced vowel grade. There are several grades of reduction ;
the most common reductions are the following : e is thrown out
(hence ei and eu become i, u; er, el, em, en become r, I, m, n l ),
while a, e, o are reduced to d. This a may be still further reduced
to zero. (Long diphthongs show likewise several grades of reduc-
tion ; a well-known change is that of the long i diphthongs to i,
i and of the long u diphthongs to u, u.)
e.g. net ' nest' fr. *ni-zd-os, older *ni-sd-os; cf. seiss, § 127
(normal vowel grade).
mlith 'grinding' fr. *ml-tis; cf. melim § 127 (normal
grade).
techt 'going' fr. *(s)tigh-ta ; cf. -Hag § 127 (normal grade).
1 Other grades of reduction are denoted by f , I, m, n, but there is much con-
troversy about these sounds. Cf. § 105 (plnos) and the following note, r, I, m, n
before vowels (e.g. tfomo, § 105) are sometimes written rr, 11, etc.
PHONOLOGY 57
ross ' promontory ' fr. *pro-sth-om : cf. -tan §127 (normal
grade).
saithe 'swarm' fr. *sd-tjos; cf.sil § 127 (normal grade).
cul 'back' fr. *kid-os: cf. Greek icrfk-q fr. *kaul-d
(normal grade).
§ 129. Under certain conditions which are hard to define, the
normal vowel grade is changed to the deflected vowel grade, that
is, e (ei, en) becomes o (oi, ou), while e and a become o.
e.g. suide 'seat' fr. * sod- join ; cf. seiss § 127.
mol 'mill-shaft' fr. *mol-os; cf. rnelim § 127.
moidid 'boasts' fr. *moid-iti; cf. niiad 'honour' fr.
*meido- (normal grade).
Greek a$eu>ica 'I have sent away' fr. *d-7r-ecoKa = -*se-
so-ka; cf. sil, § 127 (normal grade).
§ 130. From e (normal grade): o (deflected grade) must be
distinguished the so-called lengthened voivel grade e: o which
appears in syllables whose normal vowel is e.
e.g. the suffix ter (lengthened normal grade) in athir
' father ' fr. *pd-ter
:tor (lengthened deflected grade) in Greek a-irdrcop
' fatherless ' fr. *-y)d-tor ; cf. the normal grade ter in
ace. pi. aithrea fr. *pd-ter-ns.
sid ' peace ' fr. *sed-os (lengthened normal grade)
:sdidid 'fixes' fr. *sod-iti, O. Slav, saditi 'to plant'
(lengthened deflected grade); cf. seiss § 127 (normal
grade), suide § 129 (short deflected grade).
§ 131. In I.E. dissyllabic roots the vowel gradations are
limited by the rule that at least one of the root-syllables must
appear in the reduced vowel grade, though it is possible that
both syllables have a reduced vowel grade.
A good example for such a root is I.E. peh (with normal grade
of the first syllable : pie (with normal grade of the second syllable)
' to fill.' In applying the rules of vowel-gradation to this root,
we get the following forms : pel(d), pol{d) ; pie, plo ; pi, pi, pi.
e.g. il 'much' (n.) fr. *pel-u; cf. Goth.^u.
uile ' all ' perhaps fr. *pol-jo- ; cf. Greek ttoWos ' much.
58 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
lin 'number' fr. *ple-nu\ cf. § 119.
Idn < full ' fr. *pl-no-} Cf. § 105.
It is to be noted that in dissyllabic roots whose second syllable is
(when in the normal grade) a long vowel or long diphthong, the vowel
of the first syllable can never appear in the lengthened vowel grade.
9 is regularly thrown out before an immediately following vowel, e.g.
il, fr. *pel-u, older *pefo-u.
C— ACCIDENCE
The Definite Article
132. Paradigm of the article.
Singular
masculine
i
neuter
feminine
nom.
in, int (before
vowels)
a"
i?i(d) ', 2 int
(before s)
gen. in(d) ', int (before s)
inna, na
dat. (after preps, ending
in a vowel)
(after other preps.)
— n(d) , — nt (before s)
— (s)in(d) ', — (s)int (before s)
ace. (after/o)
(after other preps.)
— n n
—{s)in n
—a n
—{s)a n
— n"
— («)mi"
1 Some scholars deny the possibility of 1 giving Id and postulate an I.E.
*pld-no-, assuming a vowel gradation e : d. The whole question is very compli-
cated. The same difficulty arises in the case of f, m, n, cf. § 105. It is indeed
very peculiar that I should have given sometimes al and sometimes Id. A satis-
factory solution has not yet been offered. There is, however, no doubt that f, I,
etc., are in many cases mere symbols, denoting r, I, m, n preceded or followed by
a reduced vowel.
a ' indicates that the form aspirates.
ACCIDENCE
59
Plural
nom.
in(d) ', int (before s) inna, na
gen. (of all genders)
i/ma", na n
dat. ,,
— {s)naib (only after prepositions)
ace. ,,
inna, na, — [s)na (after preps.)
The final -d of the article remains only before rowels or aspirated /,
I, n, r (in Wb. also occasionally before aspirated b and m.) Before the
numeral da, di ' two ' the article appears in the nom. gen. and ace. of
all genders as in, in the dat. after prepositions ending in a vowel as -ft,
after other prepositions as -(s)in.
The Noun
A.— Vocalic Stems
§ 133. -o- stems. Masc. fer 'man' (fr. *viros). Neuter seel
' story ' (fr. *sk r etloin.)
Singu'
.ar
Primitive Endings
m.
n.
m.
n.
N. fer
seel
-OS
-0111
G.fir
sceuil, sceoil
-I
-I
D. fiur
sceul
-01
-01
A. fer
seel
-07)1
-om
Y.fir
seel
-e
-om
60
A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Plural
N. fr
scd 1
G. fer
scd
D. fer(a)ib
scel(a)ib
A. firvb
scd 1
V. firu
scd
-0%
-a
-dm
-dm
-obhis
-obhis
-ons
-a
-OS
-a
-a 2 >
-a
-on
-ou
-obhim
-obhim
Dual
N.A. fer scd
G. fer scd
D. fer(a)ib scel(a)ib
1 The frequent by-form sdla has taken its -a from the nom. ace.
pi. of the fem. -a- stems.
§ 134. -jo- stems. Masc. comarp(a)e ' heir ' (fr. *kom-orbjos).
Neutr. cride ' heart ' (fr. *&rdjom).
Singular
Primitive Endings
in.
n.
N. comarp(a)e
cride
The endings are those of
G. comarp(a)i
cridi
the -o- stems, preceded
D. comarpu
cridiu
by j, which developed
A. comarp(a)e
cride
an i before it, when fol-
V. comarp(a)i
cride
lowing u (v) or a con-
sonant.
Plural
N. comarp(a)i
cride
G. comarp(a)e
cride
D. comarp{a)ib
cridib
A. comarpv,
cride
V. comarpu
cride
Dual
A. comarp{a)e
cride
G. comarp(a)e
cride
D. comarp(a)ib
cridib
2 The I.E. ending -ou has been replaced by Celtic -a, which was taken from the
corresponding numeral da (older da), where the -a had been developed mproclitic
position from I.E. -ou (§ S3) ; cf. the ace. pi. of the article inna fr. *sin + dfis (fr.
I.E. *t0ns).
ACCIDENCE
61
§ 135. -a- stems.
Fern.
dram ' number ' (fr.
*ad+rvma) and
the irregular ben '
woman '
(fr.
*g r ena).
Singular
Primitive
Primitive
Endings
Forms of ben
N. dram
ben
-d
cfen-a
G. dirme
mnd
-jas
g v n-ds
D. dr(a)im
mnai
-ai
g'n-di
A. dr(a)im
mnai
-m
[Analogy to
V. dram
ben
-9
the dat. sg.]
g v en-9
Plural
N. dirmea
mnd
-as
g"n-ds
G. dram
ban
-dm
g v n-om
D. dirmib
mndib
-abhis
g v n-dbhis
A. dirmea
mnd
-dns
g'n-dns
V. dirmea
mnd
-as
g v n-as
Dual
N.A. dr(a)im
mnai
-ai
g"n-di
G. dram
ban
?
g'n-. . .
D. dirmib
mndib
-abhim
g"n-dbhim
136. -ja- stems. Fern, guide
' ounce' (fr. Lat. uncid).
Singular
N. guide
G. guide
D. guidi
A. guidi
V. guide
N. guidi
G. guide
D. guidib
A. guidi
V. guidi
Plural
ung(a)e
ung(a)e
ung(a)i
ung(a)i
ung(a)e
ung(a)i
ung(a)e
ung(a)ib
ung(a)i
ung{a)i
prayer ' (fr. *g v hodltja), ungae
Primitive Endings.
-ja
-jas
-jdi
-jm
-P
-ejes
-jom
-jdbhis
-ins
-ejes
62 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Dual
.A. guidi
ung(a)i
-jai
G. guide
ung(a)e
-'}•■•
D. guidib
ung{a)ib
-jabhim
§ 137. -i- stems. Masc. faith ' prophet ' (fr. *vdtis) ; fern,
nouns (e.g. flaith l sovereignty ' fr. *vldtis) are declined in the
same way. Neut. guin ' wound ' (fr. *g v honi).
Singular
Primitive Endings
m.
n.
m.
n.
N. faith
guin
-is
-i
G. fdtho 1
gono 1
[Analogy
to -u-
stems ?]
D. fdith
guin
-I
-%
A. fdith
guin
-im
-i
V. fdith
guin
-i
-i
Plural
N. fdithi
guine
-ejes
-ijd
G. fdithe
guine
-ijom
-ijom
D. fdithib
guinib
-ibhis
-ibhis
A. fdithi
guine
-ins
-ij9
V. fdithi
guine
-ejes
-ijd
Dual
fdith
guin
-%
-%
fdtho 1
gono
i
[Analogy to -u-
stems
>?]
fdithib
guinib
-ibhim
-ibhim
1 Also fdtha, gona with change of final -o to -a (p. 15 footnote).
§ 138. -I- stems. Fern, rigain ' queen ' (fr. *regni). In
I.E. there were %\jd and %\je stems. This distinction cannot
be upheld in O. Ir., where both classes of -%- stems have fallen
together.
ACCIDENCE
Singular
Primitive Endings
N.
rig(a)in
-% -i
G.
rign(a)e
-jets or -jes
D.
rign(a) i
-jai „ -jei
A.
rign(a)i
-jvi „ -jem
V.
rtg(a)in
Plural
-I -%
N.
rign(a)i
[Analogy to - i- stems]
G.
rign(a)e
-jom -jom
D.
rign(a)ib
-jablns or -jebhis
A.
rign(a)i
[Analogy to -i- stems]
V.
rign(a)i
Dual
[Analogy to -i- stems]
V.
rlg(a)in
[Analogy to -i- stems]
G.
rign(a)e
i"-. ■?•••
D.
Hgn(a)ib
jabhim or -jebhim
63
N.
Note. — Already in 0. Ir. some nouns belonging originally to this
class have gradually passed into the a- (e.g. nom. sg. mit beside regular
miit 'size' fr. *mcZ-nli; dat. sg. mitt instead of *mi(i)ti, etc.) or i-
declension (e.g. gen. sg. inseo beside regular inse, nom. sg. mis 'island';
dat. ace. luib instead of *lu(i)U, nom. sg. luib 'plant,' etc.).
§ 139. -u- stems. Masc. suth ' offspring ' (fr. *sutus), neut.
dorus ' door ' (fr. *dhvorestu).
Singular Primitive Endings
m.
n.
m.
>
N.
suth
dorus
-us
€
G.
sotho x
doirseo x
-ous
-OUS
D.
suth
dorus
-u
-ii
A.
suth
dorus
-um
-u
V.
suth
dorus
-u
-u
64 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Plural
N.
soth(a)e i
dorus 3
-eves
-u
G.
soth(a)e 4
doirse
[Analogy to
-i- stems]
D.
soth(a)ib
doirsib
-ovobhis
-ovobhis
A.
8uthu
dorus 3
-uns
-u
V.
(I have no
Dual
examples.)
A.
suth
dorus
-u
-u
G.
sotho l
doirseo l
[Analogy
bo the gen. sg.
D.
soth(a)ib
doirsib
-ovobhim
-ovobhir
N.
1 Also sotha, doirsea with change of final -o to -a.
2 Already in \Vb. soth(a)e could occasionally (before affixed pronouns)
become sotha (cf. § 41). Another by-form soth(a)i owes its ending to
the influence of -i- stems, though the preceding consonants have kept
as a rule their non-palatal colour.
8 The by-form doirsea (fr. older *doressd) owes its final a to the influ-
ence of o stems (e.g. nom. ace. pi. n. scela beside scil).
4 The ending of the -i- stems has been added to the primitive form
* sotho (fr. *sutovom, I.E. *sutevom) ; the vowel of the first syllable and
the consonant before the ending, however, have kept their older quality ;
the same occurs in monosyllabic neuters, e.g. rend(a)e, gen. pi. of rind
1 star ' (fr. *rendu).
§ 140. -u- stems. Such are deug ' drink ' (fr. *de-ghu ; the e instead of
t is due to the influence of -a- stems, where every t had to become e in
the nom. sg. ; cf. § 115), gen. sg. dige; mucc 'pig.' The nom. sg.
ended originally in -u ; in the oblique cases they follow the declension
of -a- stems ; the v that originally preceded the oblique case-endings
had vanished after most consonants (§ 112, 8 ) e.g. dige fr. *de-ghvjds.
§ 141. Stems in a diphthong.
bo masc. fern. ' ox, cow.'
Singular Primitive Forms
N. *bdu, bo g'ou-s
G. bo (arch, bou) g v ov-os
D. A. boin [Analogy to coin § 145]
V. bo g r ou
ACCIDENCE
Go
Plural
N.
*boi, bai
G.
bdu, bdo, bo
D.
buaib
A. V.
bib
Dual
N. A.
*boi, bai
G.
*bdu, bo
D.
buaib
g"6v-es
g v ov-om
g'ou-bhis
g v o-ns
g ov-e
g v ov-ou
g v ou-lhim
B— Consonantal Stems
§ 142. General Remarks.
The dat. sg. has in most cases two forms : a long one (primi-
tive ending -i or -ai) and a short one (formed from the mere
stem). The short form of the dat. sg. occasionally replaces that
of the ace. sg., e.g. ace. sg. traig (=dat. sg. traig fr. Hroghet)
beside regular traigid (fr. *trdghet-m).
The vocative has in the singular the same form as the
nominative, in the plural the same form as the accusative.
Hence it is unnecessary to give it in the following paradigms.
§ 143. Guttural stems. Masc. ri 'king' (fr. *reg-s), aire
•' prince ' (fr. *arjok-s), li(a)e ' stone ' (fr. *levank-s), eo, eu
'salmon' (fr. *esok-s; cf. § 126 3.); fem. sail 'willow' (fr.
*salik-s), nathir 'snake' (fr. *ndtrik-s), cdera 'sheep' (fr.
*kaperak-s).
Singular
Primitive
m.
f.
Endings
N. ri
aire
nathir
-s
G. rig
airech
nathrach
-08
D. rig
airig
nathr{a)ig,
nathir
-(a)i, —,
A. rig
airig
nathr(a)ig
-m
E
66 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Plural
N. rig
airig
nathr(a)ig
-es
G. rig
airech
nathrach
-dm
D. rig(a)ib
aired h(a)ib x
nathrach(a)ib 2
-obhis
A. riga
airecha x
nathracha 2
-ns
Dual
[
.A. rig
airig
nathr(a)ig
-e
G. rig
airech
nathrach
-Oil
D. rig(ci)ib
airech(a)ib 1
nathrach{a)ib 2
-obhim
1 The preservation of the vowel of the second syllable is due to the
fact that *arjoh- had become *arijok- before the time of syncope.
2 *n3tril:obhis and *ndtrihis should have regularly given *naithirchib
and *naithirchea (§§ 55 II., 59, 69.) ; their present forms are due to the
analogy of the other cases.
§ 144. Dental stems.
Masc. car(a)e ' friend ' (fr. *lcdrant-s), cin ' fault ' (fr. *k'inut-s),
fill 1 ' poet ' (fr. *velet-s), bethu ' life ' (fr. *g"ivo-tut-s), fiado 'Lord'
(fr. *veidont-s) ; fern, traig ' foot ' (fr. Hrdghet-s) ; neut. det
'tooth' (fr. *dnt)
The primitive endings of the masc. and fern, are the same as
those of the guttural stems.
Singular
m.
f.
n.
N. carae 1
fili
traig
det (fr. *dnt)
G. carat
filed
traiged
det
D. car a it
filid
traigid, traig
deit
A. carait
filid
traigid
det (fr. *dnt)
Plural
N. carait
filid
traigid
det (fr. *dntd)
G. carat
filed
traiged
det
D. cairtib"
filed(a)ib s
traig thib
det(a)ib
A. cairtea-
fileda 3
traigthea
det (fr. *dntd)
1 The final i lias been introduced in Pr. Ir. from the oblique cases.
ACCIDENCE 67
Dual
N.A. carait filid traigid deit{h*dntl)
G. carat filed traiged det
D. cairtib 2 filed(a)ib z traigthib det(a)ib
1 Final -ants, -anh-s seem to have given -e ; the non-palatal colour of the
preceding r is probably due to the influence of the verb caraid 'loves.'
2 -ant- had become -edd- (§ 108) before the time of syncope (cf. § 55
II.) ; hence e.g. cairtea fr. *kareddas, I.E. *hran(ns (cf. § 107) ; also tho
spelling cairdea, cairdib occurs (§ 1, i.).
3 We should have expected filtib, filtea ; cf. § 55, I., note b.
§ 145. Masculine and feminine nasal stems.
Masc. brithem 'judge' (fr. *bhrt(i)jdmb~, full stem *bhrt(i)-
jdmon-), menm(a)e 'mind' (fr. *menmen-s, i gen. sg. menman
fr. *menmen-os) ; fern, derucc ' acorn ' (fr. *derunko, full stem
*derunk(m-), gen. sg. dercon, toimtiu 'meaning' fr. *to-men-t(i)jo,
full stem *toment(i)jon-) brii ' belly ' (fr. *bhruso, the oblique
cases from the stem *bhrusn- ; the nom. sg. is used as the short
dative), cii ' hound ' (fr. *fcvo, full stem fcvon- ; gen. sg. and. pi.,
probably also dat. and ace. pi. and gen. and dat. dual are formed
from the weak stem kun-).
4 The dat. and ace. pi. seem to have been formed from the weak stem *menm-n-.
In the gen. sing, (and pi.) the full stem *'menmen- seems to have been analogi-
cally introduced ; fr. *menmnos one would have expected *menmon (§ 60).
Note. — The oblique case-endings, which are those given in § 142, have
been as a rule added to the full stem ; in I.E. only the nom. voc. ace.
locative ( = 0. Ir. dative) sg., the nom. ace. dual and the nom. voc. pi.
were formed from the full stem, but in 0. Ir. the weak (unstressed) form
of the stem had been replaced by the full stem in most instances.
Singular
m. f.
N. brithem 1 toimtiu cii
G. brithemon toimten con
D. brithem(u)in, 2 brithem toimtin, toimte 3 coin
A. brithem(u)in toimtin coin
68
A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Plural
Dual
toimtin
coin
toimten
con
toimten(a)ib
con(a)ib
toimtena
cona
toimtin
coin
toimten
con
toimten{a)ib
con(a)ib
N. brithem(u)in 2
G. brithemon
D. brithemn(a)ib
A. brithemna
NA. britJtem(u)in 2
G. brithemon
D. brithemn(a)ib
1 The unrounded quality of the m is peculiar (cf. § 49, 3 a).
2 Also brithemain (§ 61).
8 Also toimtin; the nom. sg. has sometimes been used as a dative.
Note. — anam ' soul ' (fem.) fr. *andmo, full stem anzmon-, is regularly-
declined in the plural; in the singular it has been influenced by
ainm(m) 'name (§ 145) and by the Lat. anima. Hence the m is un-
aspirated in the sg., while n and m are sometimes made palatal ; the
gen. sg. anm(a)e seems directly taken from ainm(m). In the nom sg.
appear the forms anam(m), ainim(m), an(a)im{m), in the dat. and ace.
sg. appears anim(m) beside the regular anm(u)in, anm(a)in.
§ 146. Neuter nasal stems.
gairm 'call' (fr. *grsmn), ainm{m) 'name' (fr. nmn), cdimm
* step ' (fr. *khnhsma, older *kling-smn), reimm ' course ' (fr.
*reidh-smn), imb 'butter' (fr. *ng'-n).
Singular
Primitive Forms
N.
gairm
grsmn
G.
garmae
grsmen-s
D.
garm{a)im{m)} gairm
grsmen-i, grsmen
A.
gairm
Plural
grsmn
N.
garman(n)
grsmn-9
G.
garman(n)
grsmn-om
D.
garman(n)aib 2
grsmn-obhia
A. garman{n)
grsmn-9
ACCIDENCE
69
Dual
N. A. gairm
G. garman(n)
D. garman(n)aib 2
[Analogy to the nom. sg.]
grsvm-ou
grsmn-obhim
1 The final -mm (*grsmeni would have given *garmain) is due to the
influence of the short form.
2 The second a (*grsmnobhis would have given *garmnaib) is due to
the influence of the other cases.
Note. — In words like ciimm, reimm the palatal -mm- has been analogi-
cally introduced into the plural forms (aHmmenn, re'immenn, etc.).
§ 147. Neuter -s- stems.
sliab ' mountain ' (fr. I.E. *sleibos), mag ' field ' (fr. 0. C.
*magos), tech ' house ' (fr. 0. C. Hegos).
Singular
N. A. sliab
G. sleibe
D. sleib
N. A. sUibe
G. sleibe
D. sleibib
N. A. sliab
G. sUibe
D. sUibib
Plural
Dual
Primitive Forms
*sleib-os
*sleib-esos
*sleib-es
*sleib-es9
*sleib-esom
*sleib-esobJiis
*sleib-a
*sleib-esou
sleib-esobhim
Note. — The masculine -s- stem mi 'month ' (fr. *mens), gen. sg. mis
(fr. *mens-os) is inflected like the other consonantal stems. The
nom. sg. is analogically used as nom. ace. dual.
§ 148. Nouns of relationship in -r-.
Masc. ath(a)ir 'father' (fr. *p9ter), brath(a)ir 'brother'
(fr. *bhrater); fern, mdthair ' mother' (fr. *mater), s'iur 'sister'
(fr. *svesor).
70
A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Singular
Primitive Forms
N.
ath(a)ir x
pdter
G.
athar
pdtr-os
D.
ath(a)ir 1
pdter-i
A.
ath(a)ir 1
Plural
pdter-m
N.
aithir
pdter-es
G.
athr(a)e 2
pdtr-ijom
D.
athr(a)ib 2
pdtr-bhis
A.
aithrea
Dual
pdter- ys
N. A.
aithir
pdter-e
G.
athar
pdtr-ou
D.
athr(a)ib 2
pdtr-obhim
1 The non-palatal quality of the th is due to analogy.
2 Also aithre, aithrib with analogical palatalisation of the th.
Note. — siur 'sister' forms the dat. ace. sg. and nom. ace. dual
(sieir) from the regular stem *svesor-' } the other cases (e.g. gen. sg.
seihar, nom. pi. sethir) owe their th to the influence of ath(a)ir, mdth(a)ir t
brdth(a)ir.
The Adjective
§ 149. -o- and -a- stems.
sen ' old ' ; masc. fr. *sen-os ; fern. fr. *sen-a ; neut. fr. *sen-om.
Where the adjective is used substantively it has the same
inflexion as the noun (§§ 133, 135). It is only the attributive
and the predicative adjective that call for special discussion:
a. Dissyllabic adjectives whose second vowel was originally
palatal take in the nom. ace. pi. of all genders the ending of the
-i- stems.
e.g. liasal ' high ' (fr. *oupselo-), nom. ace. pi. liaisli.
b. Towards the end of the eighth century the ending of the
ace. voc. plur. fern, and neut. spread to the masculine, though
also the regular ending -u may still be found.
e.g. isna lucu arda (Ml.) 'into high places.'
c. In the nom. ace. plur. neuter only the longer form in -a is
found (§ 133, note 1).
ACCIDENCE 71
§ 150. -jo- and -jd- stems.
uile 'all'; masc. fr. *poljo8\ fern. fr. */>o£/a ; neut. fr. *}ioljom.
The inflexion is the same as in the noun. (On aile, alaile, see
I 171)-
Only in the nom. ace. voc. plur. of all genders the ending
is -i (taken from -i-sterns ; the neuter has this ending also in
substantival use).
But in the ace. plur. masc. when the adjective is used substan-
tially, the ending is -(i)u as in the noun.
§ 151. -i- stems.
maith ' good ' ; masc. fr. *mdt-is, fern. fr. *mdt-%, neut. fr. *mdt-i.
a. In the gen. sg. the endings are those of the -o- and -a- stems :
these forms are also used substantivally.
b. In the gen. pi. there appears, beside the regular forms in
-e (maithe), a short form without any ending (maitJi) ; it seems
that only the longer forms could be used substantivally.
c. In the nom. ace. pi. neut. the ending -i is regular: but
when the adjective is used substantivally the ending -e may
occasionally be employed.
§ 152. -u- stems.
dub ' black ' ; masc. fr. *dhubh-us ; fern. fr. *dhubh-u ; neut. fr.
*dhubh-u.
In the gen. sg. of all genders and the dat. sg. fern, the endings
are those of the -o-, -a- stems, while all plural-forms are inflected
like -i- stems.
§ 153. Consonantal stems.
There are very few examples, e.g. U 'hot ' (*tepents), nom. pi.
teit (*tepent-es).
§ 154. Comparison of adjectives.
There are two comparisons :
1. The comparison of equality (old suffix *-tris), which is
followed by the ace. of the noun.
72
A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
e.g. dian ' hasty ' : denithir ' as hasty.'
il ' much,' m&r, mor ' great ' and lethan ' broad ' have irregular
comparatives : lir, moir, lethidir.
2. The comparison of superiority, which has three degrees :
the positive, the comparative, and the superlative.
The comparative is formed by an old suffix *-jos
e.g. sen ' old ' : siniu ' older ' (fr. *sen-jos)
ard ' high ' : ardu ' higher ' (fr. *fdhv-jos ; cf. § 105).
The superlative is formed by an old suffix *-is-mo-
e.g. sinem (fr. O. C. *sen-isamo-, I.E. *sen-is-mo-), ardam.
Note. — Some adjectives form their comparative and superlative
from the mere root, losing the suffix of the positive, e.g. sir 'long'
(fr. *se-ro-), comparative sla fr. *se-is, superlative stem. Such adjectives
have also a different suffix in the comparative. In some instances the
comparative and superlative are formed from another root.
Examples of irregular comparison : —
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
actus, ocus ' near '
nessa
nessam
becc ' small '
l(a)mja
lugam, *laigem (cf. § 65, 3)
il ' much '
lia
J
lethan ' broad '
letha
?
maith ' good '
ferr
dech (deff)
mar (mdr) 'great'
moo, md, mda
mdam, mdam
dac ' young '
m
60m
ok ' bad '
messa
messam
trin ' strong '
tressa
tressam
§ 155. Adverbs from adjectives.
Every adjective may become an adverb by putting the article
before the dat. sg. n. of the required adjective, e.g. in maith
' well,' in biucc ' little.' The adjectives and participles in -de,
-the take the ending -id, -ith, e.g. ind aicnetid ' naturally ' (fr.
aicnet(a)e). In later O. Ir. adverbs are occasionally formed
with the help of the preposition co ' to,' e.g. commaith l well.'
Only leir ' diligent ' may also take the preposition di before it.
The comparative and superlative degrees are formed by putting
ACCIDENCE 73 s
the dat. sg. of the article before the comparative or superlative
form of the respective adjective, e.g. int serbu ' more bitterly '
(fr. serb) ; in messam ' most badly ' (fr. olc).
Numerals
§ 156. Cardinals.
den ' one ' is uninflected and enters into composition with a
following noun. (On den 'same/ see § 169, 2.)
da (da, p. 29, footnote), ' two.' (When unaccompanied by a
noun, ddu, do.)
masc. fern. neut.
N. A. da di da n
G. da da da n
^~ — ■-
D. dib n , deib n .
tri (tri, p. 29, footnote), ' three.' (When unaccompanied by a
noun tri.)
masc.
fern.
neut.
N.
tri
teoir, teora
tri'
G.
tri n
teora n
tri' 1
D.
trib
Uor(a)ib
trib
A.
tri
teora
tri
cethir ' four.'
masc.
fern.
neut.
N.
ceth(a)ir
cetheoir, cetheora
ceth(a)ir
G.
?
cetheora"
?
D.
?
cetheor(a)ib
?
A.
ce(i)thri
cetheora
ceth(a)ir
coic ' five,' se ' six,' secht' 1 ' seven,' ocht n ' eight,' noi' 1 ' nine,' deich n
' ten,' are uninflected. For the genitive of deich" the form deec,
(later deac fr. *dvei-penk"ovb) is used.
The numerals 2-10 when unaccompanied by a noun or the
article take the particle a before them.
The numerals jiche '20/ tricho (tricha, p. 15, footnote) '30/
*cethorcho ' 40/ *coico ' 50/ *sesco ' 60/ sechtmogo ' 70/ *ochtmogo
74 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
' 80,' *nocho ' 90/ cet ' 100/ mile ' 1000/ are substantives govern-
ing a following noun in the genitive, mile is fern., cet is neut.,
while the tens are masculine.
The other numbers above ten are expressed in different ways,
e.g. a secht fichet ' 27/ se fir trichat ' 36 men/ sesco ar diet
' 160/ a ddu nochat ar dib ce'taib ' 292.'
§ 157. Ordinals.
cetn(a)e ' 1st ' (before tens oenmad), tdn(a)ise (aile) ' 2nd/ triss,
tress ' 3d/ cethramad ' 4th/ coiced ' 5th/ se(i)ssed ' 6th/ sechtmad
1 7th/ ochtmad ' 8th/ nomad ' 9th/ dechmad ' 10th/ fichet-mad
1 20th/ trichat-mad ' 30th/ etc., cetmad ' 100th.'
In expressing other ordinal numbers above ten the unit digit
only is an ordinal number, the tens being added in the genitive
case, the hundreds by means of the preposition ar.
e.g. in sechtmad cethorchat ' the 47th,' ind ochtmad rann
fichet ' the 28th part.'
Pronouns and Adjectives connected therewith
§ 158. Personal pronouns.
Sing. 1st per. me ' 1/ emphaticform me(i)sse
2nd pers.M 'thou,' „ ,, tussu
(h)e-som (-sium), (Ii)e-side
sissi, si-ede
(h)ed on, (h)e(d)-se
snisni, snini, sisni, sinni
sissi, sib
(li)e-sidi, (h)e'-se
3rd pers. (h)e ' he,'
si ' she,' „
(h)ed' it,'
Plur. 1st pers. sni ' we/ „
2nd pers. si ' you,'
3rd pers. (h)e 'they' ,,
§ 159. Infixed personal pronouns.
I. II. III.
Sg. 1st pers. m{m)' torn, turn, tom(m)', dom, dum, dam{m) (
doTri, dum, dam(m)'
2nd pers. £ tot', tat', t' dit', dat'
3rdpers.masc.a", -" t" (ta n ) (i)d ,l ,(did n ),d",- n ,(da n )
fern. s n , s ta, da da
neut.a,- t' (i)d', (did"), -
ACCIDENCE 75
Plur. 1st pers. n(n) ton, tan(n), don din, don, dun, dan(n)
2nd pers. b (/) fob, tab, dob, dub dib, dob, dub, dab
3rd pers s'\ s ta, da da
a. After the negative particle na (nad) the infixed pronouns
appear in the following forms : sing. 1. nachim- (nacltam'-),
l.'nachit- (nacJiat-), 3. m. nacJi"-, f. nacha-, n. nacK- (nachid"-
madid'-); plur. 1. nachin- (nachan-), 2. nachib- (nacliab-), 3.
'nacha-.
But in the 3rd pers. sg. and pi. of relative verbal forms which
are capable of eclipsis (§ 28), when eclipsis (which is not obliga-
tory) takes place, the infixed pronouns which follow the eclipsing
n appear in the sg. m. as d", f. as da, n. as oT, in the pi. as da.
b. Class I. is used after prepositions and particles ending
originally in a vowel (ro-, no-, do-, ar-, imm-, etc.) which
is elided before a' and a n . But ni + a gives nt. Old dis-
syllabic prepositions, as ar-, imm- {*pre, *mbhi), keep their final
vowel before infixed pronouns beginning with a consonant. The
quality of this vowel (which appears as a, e, i, or u) depends on
that of the surrounding consonants, but is often changed by
analogy. (Cf. § 81.)
Class II. is used after the pre verbal prepositions ad-, aith-,
com-, ess-, etar-, for-, frith-, in-, ad-, ess-, uss-, in- become with
the dental of the pronoun at-, while com- said frith- become cot-,
frit(t)-, and aith- becomes at{t)-.
Class III. is regularly used after i n ' in which,' after prep.+rel.,
after the conjunctions ara n , dia n , con", co n and after the
interrogative in- (§ 165).
It is further very often used when the verb is relative (that is
to say, when the subject or object of the verb is emphatically
brought forward with the copula — e.g. is Crist pridcltes ' it is
Christ who preaches ' — or in the cases mentioned in § 28),
though in the first and second persons the forms of Class I. and
II. prevail.
c. After the conjunctions da (ce, ci), cent, ma, mani, followed by an
76 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
indicative, (i)d' is regularly infixed unless there be an infixed pronoun.
Simple verbs take no- before them which serves to infix the d'. The
infixed pronoun of the 3rd sg. masc. and neut. appears after the
mentioned particles as (i)d.
d. The infixed pronouns are regularly inserted immediately
before the stressed syllable (§ 53). When simple verbs are not
preceded by (unstressed) no-, ro-, or one of the particles men-
tioned in § 53, 2 b-e, the particle no- is prefixed in order
to infix a personal pronoun. See further § 29. But the
infixed pronouns follow the forms of the copula ; in this case
Class in. is used for the third person.
Examples : —
ad a. con-naehn-inge'uin ' so that he knew him not,' ar-nacha-tisat
' lest they should come to them,' na-n-da-tiberad ' that he would not give
it ' (i.e. the flesh ; fhiil is fern, in 0. Ir.). Cf. § 28 g.
ad b. I. ni-m-charat-sa 'they do not love me,' ni-cheil 'he does not
hide it ' (but ni-ceil ' he does not hide '), r-a-lleic ' he left him ' (cf. § 34
note), aro-b-roinasc, ' I have betrothed you,' immu-s-cluinetar (with
eclipsed c, i e. g) ' they hear one another.'
II. atam-grennat (ir. ad-greinn or in-greinn), ' they pursue me,' cotn-
erba, 'he entrusts himself ,' for-dob-moinetar, 'they envy you.'
III. in-dit-moide 'in which thou shouldst boast,' amail imm-i-n-d-rditset
(see § 29) ' as they were thinking of him,' con-(d)id-molathar ' so that
he praises him,' in fer do-da-aidlea (ir. -ad-ella) ' the man who visits her,'
in gnim ar-id-gair ' the deed which he forbids.'
ad c. mani-d-chretid 'if you do not believe,' ce no-d-chara 'though he
loves,' ci as-id-beir ' though he says it.'
ad d. amal for-n-da-cbn-gair, 'as he orders them,' ni-ru-m-choin-ar-
Uicis ' thou hast not permitted me,' d-a-gniu-sa ' I do it,' issa-t-e'cen ' it
is necessary for thee' (issa-t in proclitic position fr. ^esti + tu ; cf. § 81),
iss-idn-aithrech 'it is repentant for him, i.e. he repents.'
§ 160. Suffixed personal pronouns.
I. After verbs.
Sg. 1. -um, 2. -ut (-at), 3. masc. neut. -i (after the 1 and 2 pi.
-it), fem. -us.
PI. 1. -iinn, 3. -us.
ACCIDENCE
17
e.g. beirthi ' he carries hiin ' (fr. older *berethi=I.E. *bhereti +
im), guidmit 'we pray for it,' beirthius 'he carries them ' (fr.
older *berethisu = I.E. *bhereti + sons).
These suffixed pronouns are used only after the simple verbal
forms.
II. After prepositions.
Most of the simple prepositions combine with the disjunctive
forms of the personal pronouns. The primitive order of things
has been much disturbed by the working of analogy. All
the combinations may take an emphatic suffix.
A. Prepositions governing the dative : —
a 'out of
di 'from'
(Id ' to'
find 'in pre-
sence of
Sg. 1.
dim
dom, dam
fiadam
2.
essiut
dit
duit, dait, d(e)it
3. m. n.
ass
de
ddu, d6 (dossom)
f.
t(i)ssi, e(i)sse
dl (dissi)
di (dissi)
PL 1.
dln(n)
dihi(n)
2.
dib
duib
fiadib
3.
e(i)ssib
diib, dib
do[a)ib, dumb, doib
ftad[a)ib
iar ' after '
is ' below '
oc 'at'
re" ' before '
Se. 1.
2.
3. m. n.
f.
PI. 1.
2.
3.
iarmut
iarum
/.s'(s)wm
*ocztm
*ocut
oc(c)o, oc{r)a
occ(a)i, occae
ocunn
*ocaib
occaib
*remum, rium
remut, *riut
r'iam
remi
*remunn, riunn
remib
■iia (d) ' from '
tlas (6s) 'above
Sg. 1.
2.
3. m. n.
f.
PI. 1.
2.
3'.
(h)uaim{m)
(h)iiait
(h)ilad, (h)uaid
(h)uadi, (h)uade
(h)uain(n), huan(n) (6n-ni)
(h)uaib
(h)ua(i)dib (ddib)
uasum
(*uaso, *uasa?)
6sih(Wh.)
78
A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
B. Prepositions governing 1
:he accusative
: —
amal ' like '
cen ' without '
CO ' to '
cter ' between '
Sg. 1.
samlum
cuccum
etrum, etrom
Q
*samlut
cenut
cuc(c)ut
3. m. n.
saml(a)id
cen(a)e
cuc(c)i
etir, itir
f.
cucae, cuicce
PI. 1.
cucunn
etrun(ii), etron{n)
o
cenuib
cuc(c)uib
etruib
3.
samlaib
cenaib
CUCCU
etarru, etarro
fri ' towards '
imm ' about '
la ' with '
Sg. i.
frim{m), frium(m)
immum
lem(m),lim{m),lium(m)
2.
frit(t),friut{t)
immut
latif)
3. m. n.
friss
imbi
leis*, less, laiss
f.
fr'ie
impt
lee (laee, Id)
PI. 1.
frinn
immunn
linn
2.
frib
immih
lib
3.
friu
impu, impo
l&u, Uo
sech ' past '
tnr (dar) ' over'
tri (trc) ' through
Sg. 1.
*sechum
*torum
trium
o
*sechut
torut
triut
3, m. n.
sechce
tarais
tr'iit, trit
f.
*secce
*tairse
tree
PI. 1.
tor win
triun(n)
2.
triib
3.
seccu
tairsiu
triu, trio
C. Prepositions governing
the dative and accusative : —
ar (*j're) ' for '
ar (*perd) ' for '
Jo ' under '
for 'on'
Sgf.l.
2.
3. dat. m. n.
dat. f.
3. ace. m. n.
ace. f.
PI, 1.
2.
3. dat.
3. ace.
airium
i
i
airi
airib, airin[i)b
i
airriu
erum
enit
l
l
crunn, eronn
eruib
i
erru, erriu
f6u, fd
foi
*foas
foib
form, forum
fort
fuiri
fair, foir
forrae
fornn, forun(n)
fuirib, fo(i)rib
for(a)ib
form
1 The accusative forms of ar are also used for the dative.
ACCIDENCE 79
i 'in.'
Sg. 1. indium(m), 2. Hndiut, 3. dat. m. n. and f. indi, 3. ace. m. n.
ind, f. inte.
PI. 1. indiunn, 2. intfo'J, 3. dat. indib, 3. ace. mtfm.
§ 161. Possessive pronouns.
Sg. 1. mui 'mine,' 2. *£ui(?) ' thine,' 3. ai (tic) 'his-,' 'hers.'
PI. 1. athar, dr (cf. § 79) ' ours,' 2. sethar, stir 'yours,' 3. ai
(de) ' theirs.'
§ 162. Possessive adjectives ( = unstressed forms of the
pronouns).
Sg. 1. mo (mil), ' my,' 2. do (du), ' thy,' 3. m. n. a, ' his, its/
3. f. a, ' her.'
PI. 1. ar n , 'our,' 2. for n , far 11 , 'your,' 3. a n , 'their.'
The vowels of mo and rfo are elided whenever they follow for or a pre-
position ending originally in a vowel (after tar, dar, the usage varies),
or when they are followed by a word beginning with a vowel (or —
from the ninth century onwards — •/). But in the latter case the vowel
may be preserved as well. When the vowel is elided, d becomes t,
which is liable to aspiration ; m' is never aspirated. After preposi-
tions ending in -r, or in a vowel, far' 1 may appear as bar" ( = var v ).
e.g. form chiunn ' upon my head,' t'airde or do airde ' thy token,'
ar bar n-imniud ' on account of your trouble.'
§ 163. Interrogative pronouns.
Sg. m. f. cia ' who ? ' n. cid ' what ? ' gen. coich ' whose.'
PI. cit n-e ' who are they ? ' ' what are they ? ' (cit = cia+3 pi.
of the copula ; cf. § 31).
The interrogative pronoun always comes first in a sentence, while
the following verb must be relative (§ 158 b).
§ 164. Interrogative adjectives.
Sg. m. cia (ce, ci), f. ce-si' ci-si' ' which ? ' n. ceo" (cid r )
' what ? '
PL cit n-e ' what are . . . ? '
In some instances cesi, ced are replaced by cia, e.g. c(ia) indas,
' how ? ' (indas ' state, kind ' is n.).
80 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
cote, cate ' what is ? ' coteet, cateet, cateat ' what are ? '
sechi ' whosoever,' ' whatsoever,' pi. sechit(at)n-e. ( = sechi-{-
3 pi. of the copula; cf. § 31).
On the interrogative adjectives before the copula, see § 209.
§ 165. Interrogative particles.
in n (before b:im), 'whether,' in n — in 11 , in n — ba( = va), fa
* whether — or.'
cani (before proclitic ro- : cain) is used where an affirmative
answer is expected.
§ 166. Kelative pronouns.
In 0. Ir. there is only one proper relative particle -a n or -sa n
which is used after prepositions
e.g. lassa n ' with whom, with which,' fora n (or forsa") ' on
whom, on which.'
The prepositions do and di with the relative become dia n , fo
becomes foa n ,fua n or fd", while i n is used for the simple preposi-
tion as well as for prep. + rel.
a n ' what,' ol-suide m. f. ' which,' ol-sodain n. ' what ' serve
only as the subject or the object of the verb.
On relative inti (ani, etc.), nech, ni, nani, each, see §§ 168, 170.
On relative construction, see §§ 159 b, 28, 26, 17.
§ 167. Emphatic particles.
The emphatic particles may be used with the possessive adjec-
tives, the personal pronouns and verbal forms. They are not
attached immediately to the possessive adjectives or to the
forms of the copula, but come next to the following fully-stressed
word. Most of them have broad and slender forms according
to the quality of the final sound of the words to which they are
attached.
broad slender
Sg. 1. -sa -se (sect)
2. -su, 1 -so 1 -siu
3. m. -som x (sum l sam l ) sem, sium
f. si si
ACCIDENCE 81
n.
som 1 (sum x -sam l )
son, on
-sem, -slum
PI. 1.
-ni, -nai
-ni
2.
-si
-si
3.
-som l
-sem, -slum
1 These broad spellings are also used after slender final sounds ; in
the third persons the broad spellings prevail even after slender sounds.
Examples: am rise 'I am a king,' as-bir-so (or su, -siu)
' thou sayst,' a flaith-som (or -sem, slum) 'his sovereignty,' do-
ssom ' to him ' (§ 160 II. a).
In the 3 sg. n. with forms of the copula only son, on can be
used.
sdn, 6n may also be used in explanations in the sense of ' that is to say.'
e.g. intan imme-romastar sun nach nolb ' that is, when any saint
sins.'
See further § 168,5.
§ 168. Demonstrative Pronouns and Adjectives.
1. The article, when combined with a following affixed -(h)i
e.g. m. int-i (f. ind-i, n. an-i, g. sg. m. n. ind-i, f. inna-hi,
etc.) has the meaning ' he, the aforementioned,' before
a relative verb ' he who.'
e.g. inti Dia ' God,' ani as maith ' that which is good.'
2. The pronouns so, sa (after words ending in a palatal sound
mostly se, seo, sea) ' this,' sin ' that,' tall, ucut ' yonder, there '
are used after a noun preceded by the article
e.g. in fer sin ' that man,' ind eich se (seo, sea) ' of this
horse.'
Note. — i-siii, (not i-se, i-seo), i-sin, i-thall serve as the emphatic forms
of the aforementioned pronouns. They may also be used substan-
tivally without an accompanying noun, preceded only by the article,
e.g. in fer fsiu 'this man,' inti thall 'that yonder/ innahi-siu
do-mmeil ' those things which he eats.'
3. inso (inse), so (se) ' this,' insin, sin ' that ' are used as
F
82 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
subject or object of a verb, after prep. + suff. pron., and after the
comparative of equality. When forming predicate nouns they
must be preceded by a personal pronoun of the third person,
e.g. do-gni (in)sin ' he does that,' airi (in)sin ' on account
of that/ is lerithir (in)so ' it is so diligently,' is si mdit
(in)sin ' that is the extent.'
4. In prepositional phrases se ' this ' is used as accusative
neuter, siu (or sund) as dative, while sin ' that' is used for both
cases.
e.g. co-sse ' up to this,' de-siu or di-sund ' from this,' iar-sin
' afterwards.'
Note. — siu, sund, sin may also be used adverbially, meaning ' here.'
sin may be used after the comparative
e.g. m6o sin 'greater than this.'
5. The dat. and ace. of snide ' he, she, this ' are fully stressed
and regularly inflected, though the dat. pi. may be sometimes
used for the accusative. For the accus. sg. neut. the form
sod(a)in is used. The dat. and ace. are used with prepositions
and after the comparative,
e.g. la sod(a)in ' therewith,' do suidiu ' to him,' moo suidiu
' greater than this.'
The nom. and gen. are enclitic and may serve as emphatic
particles.
(a.) nom. sg. m. side (sede), f. side, ede, ade (ide), de n. side ;
pi. sidi, side, adi, di, ade (ide), de.
These forms are used as the subject of a verb or they are
attached to the third persons of the personal pronoun ; they
may be further attached to a verb, going with an infixed
pronoun.
e.g. do-beir side 'he gives'; nirbu litir ade 'it was not a
letter'; is e'-side as-beir 'he says' (i.e. it is he who
says) ; ni-sn-dirmim sidi ' I reckon them not.'
(b.) gen. sg. m. n. sidi, adi (idi), di, (ade, de) f. ade {ide), de
pi. m. f. n. ade (ide), de (adi, di).
These forms are attached to a noun preceded by a possessive
ACCIDENCE 83
pronoun e.g. a iress sidi ' his faith ' ; a dilde ade ' her beauty,'
a thorb(a)e de ' his profit.'
§ 169. Definitive pronouns and adjectives.
1. ' Self is expressed by different forms in different persons.
Sg. 1 . fiin, fadiin, din, caddin ;
2. fein, fadiin ;
3. m.n. fe(i)$$in, fe(i)sin, fein, fesine, fade(is)sin, faddne, cesin,
cadesin ;
f . fe(i)sine, fiisne, fiissin, fissin, fadisin.
PI. 1. fesine, fanisin, canisin ;
2. feisne, f6(i)sin, fadeisne, fadisin ;
3. fMne, fiisne, fe(is)sin, fade(i)sine, fad^sne, fadesin, fedesin,
cadesne, cade'sin.
Tlie quantity of the internal e seems uncertain, except in the 1. and
2. pers. sg.
2. 'The same' is expressed by the undeclinable innonn,
innunn (sinnonn, sinnunn) or by the declinable oin (den)
which precede the respective nouns or by cetn(a)e (§ 156) which
follows its noun.
The substantive ' the same ' is expressed by the neuter case
of oin (Sen) preceded by (s)innonn, (s)innunn.
§ 170. Indefinite pronouns.
1. nech ' any one, anything,' nom. ace. n. ni or na-ni, gen.
neich, dat. neuch, neoch. For the plural the forms of alaile
(araile) x are used, nech is often used before a relative verb e.g.
do neuch as maith ' concerning whatever is good.'
2. nechtar de or nechtar n-ai ' either of them ' (uninflected).
3. each (nom. dat. ace.) ' every one,' gen. cdich ; n. each (cech) ni.
When used before a relative verb it takes the article before it.
4. cechtar de or cechtar n-di 'each of them' (later also
cechtardae diib).
5. alaile (araile) 1 m. f. ' another,' n. alaill (araill)} ace. pi. m.
alailiu (arailiu), 1 gen. sg. f. ala-aile, gen. pi. ala n-aile, nom.
pi. ala-aili or alaili.
Note. — Instead of alaile : axle (n. aill) may be used preceded by the
article or by nach (n. na) 'any.'
1 The r arose by dissimilation, due to the following I.
84 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
6. indala n-ai ' one of the two ' (uninflected).
7. ' a chile ' ' the other,' is likewise uninflected.
§ 171. Indefinite adjectives.
1. nach 'any/ nom. ace. n. na; dat. gen. sg. m. and n. nach;
gen. sg. f., pi. nom. ace. f. n. and ace. m. nacha ; pi. dat. nach.
2. each, cech ' every ' ; dat. m. n. cech, each ; gen. m. n. cech,
each (caich); gen. f. cecha, cacha (cache); plur. in all persons
cacha, cecha or each, cech.
each (cech) den ' every one ' ; each n-ae, each ae, each (h)ce,
each he (or cech n-ae, etc.) ' each of them,' later also each de diib.
3. aile ' another,' n. aill, follows its noun.
alaile, n. alaill (araile, araill) l ' a certain ' stands before its
noun. (Very seldom it has the meaning ' another ').
indala — aile, alaile ' the one — the other, plural alaili —
alaili ; with distributive meaning, each-la . . . aile ' the one — the
other.'
e.g. indala fer — in fer aile, or indala fer — alaile ' the one
man — the other ' ; cach-la cein — in cein n-aili ' at one
time — at another time.'
§ 172. Adverbs of place.
Rest
Motion towards the
speaker
Motion from the speaker
east, in front
t-air
s-air
an-air
west, behind
t-lar
s-iar
an-iar
north, left
tuaid
/a-thuaifh
(sa-thuaid)
an-tuaid
south, right
dess (tess)
fa-dess (sa-dess)
an-dess
here
sund
i-tte(i)
de-siu
over there, yonder
t-all
inn-onn, inn-unn
an-all
above
t-uas
8 •lias
an-ilas
below
t-is
s-ls
an-is
outside
di-an-echtair
s-echtar, s-echtair
an-echtar, (di-)an-
echlair
Examples : it hi sin inna ranna as-rubart titas ' those are the parts
which he has mentioned above ' ; Uit stlas ' he goes upwards ' ; doUt
anuas ' he comes from above.'
In prepositional use : fri Emuin andess ' south of Emain,'/r/u antuaid
'to the north of them 5 '/n tech anuas 'above the house.'
ACCIDENCE 85
THE VERB
§ 173. General Remarks.
1. According to the formation of the stem we can distinguish
between weak verbs (formed mostly from nouns or adjectives)
and strong (or radical) verbs.
The former show after their root a vocalic suffix -a- or -%- of
various origin {-a- and -I- verbs). This suffix can clearly be
seen in the compositional form of the 3. sg. pres., e.g. ni-marba
1 he does not kill ' (fr. O. C. *-marv-a-t), or ad-rimi ' he reckons '
(fr. O. C. *-rim-i-t), ad-suidi ' he keeps ' (fr. O. C. *-sod-i-t),
while the compositional 3. sg. pres. of radical verbs has lost
its ending in O. Ir. e.g. ni-ben(a)id ' you do not strike ' (fr.
I.E. *-bhi-nd-te), as-beir 'he says' (fr. I.E. * -bher-e-t).
On the hiatus-verbs, whose root ended in a vowel in 0. Ir.,
see § 181.
2. Every verb has short (compositional) and long (non-
compositional) endings.
The short endings are found in compositional verbal forms, i.e.
(a) in compound verbs, whether they are stressed on their first
element (genuine compounds) or not (non-genuine compounds)
cf. § 53.
(b) in simple verbs, when these are preceded by a preverb,
i.e. the verbal particles ro-, no-, or any of the particles and
conjunctions (mentioned in § 53, 2 and § 211) with which
they enter into so-called non-genuine composition.
Special relative endings are only found in the non-composi-
tional active 3. sg., 1. and 2. pi. of indicative and subjunctive
present, future and preterite of simple verbs, while in the third
persons of non-compositional passive and deponent forms of
simple verbs, as well as in the 1. pi. of deponent verbs, the
relative endings are identical with the endings of the corre-
sponding compositional forms.
In the non-compositional passive preterite of simple verbs,
only the non-compositional forms are also used in a relative
sense. In the non-compositional active 1. and 2. sing, and 2. pi
86 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
of the pres. ind., pres. subj. and fut. of simple verbs, when they
are used relatively, the particle no- is prefixed.
3. The passive has special forms only for the third persons
singular and plural. The other persons are expressed by means
of the 3. sg. with infixed pronouns, e.g. no-m-berar ■ I am
carried/ no-n-berar ' we are carried/ etc.
4. In later 0. Ir. the deponential inflexion gradually gives
way to the active; in the imperfect indicative, past subjunc-
tive, and secondary future, as well as in the 2. pi. of all moods
and tenses, and in the 3. sg. imperative active inflection only is
found.
§ 174. Preverbal Particles.
1. The particle no- is used
(a) regularly with the imperfect indicative, past subjunctive
and secondary future of simple verbs, when they are not preceded
by any of the particles and conjunctions (so-called ' preverbs/
§ 53, 2 and § 211) which enter into so-called non-genuine
composition with the following verbal form.
(b) under similar conditions, in other parts of the simple
verb, in order to infix a personal pronoun or relative -n- (cf. the
note below).
(c) in some parts of the verb in a relative function, see
§ 173,2b.
2. The particle ro- (ru-, ra-, § 116, 3, 4) is used as follows: —
(a) It converts a preterite (ind. or subj.) or narrative tense
into a perfect, while an imperfect is turned into a consuetudinal
perfect, e.g. as-bert ' he said ' ; as-ru-bart ' he has said.'
(b) In a dependent clause of a general sentence it gives a
present (ind. or subj.) the force of a perfect, e.g. in in nuall
do-n-gniat ho ru-maith fora n&imtea remib ' the cry that they
make when their enemies are routed by them.'
(c) It gives a pres. subj., which is used in a future sense, the
force of a future perfect, while a past subjunctive is turned into
a pluperfect, e.g. dia n-4rbalam-ni, nibia nech ' if we shall
have died, there will be no one.'
ACCIDENCE 87
(d) It expresses possibility (except in the ind. pret. and impf.)
e.g. cia ru-be" cen ni diib, ni ru-bai cenaib huili ' though it can
be without some of them, it cannot be without all of them ' ; ni
d-a-r-genat ' they will not be able to do it.'
(e) With the subjunctive it is regular
(a) in wishes ;
(/S) after acht ' provided that,' re-siu ' before ' ;
(7) after co n , con n ' until ' when following a negative sentence.
(f) It is also occasionally found with other subjunctives
where the usage is less defined and the force of the particle ro- is
less obvious.
(a) in negative commands, e.g. ni to-r-gaitha ' he should not
defraud him.'
(/3) in indefinite relative clauses and relative clauses ranging
from possibility to purpose, e.g. na maith ro-be ' whatever good
there is ' ; hoi ni ro-glante and ' there was something to be
purified there.'
(7) in final clauses ; also after adjectival expressions, like 'it
is necessary, meet, fitting,' etc., e.g. arna ro-chretea ' that he may
not believe ' ; is huisse ce ru-samaltar fri Crist ' it is right that
he be compared to Christ.'
3. In some verbs other particles are employed instead of ro-,
such as ad- (frequent in compounds beginning with com-), e.g.
con-scar ' destroys ' : con-ascar ; com-, e.g. as-oirg ' smites ' :
as-com-ort ' has smitten ' ; ess-, e.g. ibid ' drinks ' : as-ib ' has
drunk.' A double preposition appears in do-essid(*de-eks-se-sod-e),
perf. of saidid ' sits,' which has for its preterite siasair.
Sometimes a different root is employed, e.g. do-rat ' has given,'
do-bert 'gave,' to do-bcir 'gives'; ro-ld 'has thrown,' fo-cdird
' threw,' to fo-ceird ' throws.'
In some verbs there is no distinction between ro- forms and
ro-less forms, e.g. in all compounds of -ic(c) (do-icc ' comes,'
con-ice ' is able,' ro-icc ' reaches,' etc.), ro-fitir ' knows,' ad-bath
' died,' etc.
Note. — In the future and secondary future of the substantive verb
(under the conditions given in § 174, 1. a) to- serves to infix a personal
pronoun.
88 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
On the preverbal prepositions see § 211. On the other
preverbs see § 53, 2.
4. In ad-ci ' sees ' and ro-cluinethar ' hears ' the narrative
tenses are expressed with the aid of co n , e.g. co-cualae ' he heard ' ;
but co n is dropped after the particles and conjunctions men-
tioned in § 53, 2 b-e.
On the Formation of the Moods and Tenses
§ 175. The Present Stem.
From the present stem are formed the present indicative, the
imperfect indicative, and the imperative.
While the present stem of the weak verbs (§ 173, 1) is
identical with the common verbal stem, the present stem of
radical verbs is formed from the common verbal stem in four
different ways :
1. By adding the thematic vowels e (in the 2. and 3. sg. and
2. pi.) and o, in the 1. sg. (in the compositional 2. sg. -ei).
e.g. as-beir ' he says ' fr. I.E. *cfcs-bher-e-t, as-beram ' we say '
fr. I.E. *efcs-bher-o-mos.
2. By infixing an n before the final d or g of the stem and
adding the thematic vowel e/o.
e.g. bongid ' breaks ' fr. I.E. *bho-n-g-e-ti, root *bhog.
3. By adding palatal suffixes.
e.g. gaibid ' takes ' fr. I.E. *ghabh-i-ti, gaibit ' they take ' fr.
I.E. *ghabh-i-nti, midithir 'judges' fr. 0. C. *med-je-trai.
4. By adding a suffix -na- (fr. *nd) or -nu-,
e.g. -ren(a)id 'you sell' fr. I.E. *pr-nd-te; do-lin 'flows' fr.
O. C. *to-li-nu-t, 3. pi. do-linat fr. O. C. Ho-li-nu-nt (0. C. li-
fr. I.E. *ph § 132).
§ 176. Present and Past Subjunctive.
In 0. Ir. there are two types of subjunctive :
1. The s- subjunctive, formed from radical verbs, whose root
ends in a dental, a guttural or nn (fr. *ndn, nkn, etc.).
Its stem is formed by adding an s- which becomes assimilated
to the final consonant of the root ; with the exception of the 3. sg.
ACCIDENCE 89
active and deponent and 2. sg. deponent a thematic vowel e/o
appears before the ending just as in § 175, i.
e.g. saidid 'sits,' 3. sg. pres. subj. seiss, fr. *sed-s-ti, composi-
tional form : -s£ fr. *sed-s-t.
Note. — The subjunctive stem shows occasionally a different vowel-
gradation from the present stem ; as a rule the normal vowel-grade is
found ; the verbs beginning with /- show an analogical e
e.g. dingid ' crushes ' fr. *dhi-n-gh-e-ti ; 3. sg. subj. de'is fr. *dheigh-s-
ti ; ad-fiadat ' they tell ' fr. I.E. *ad-veid-o-nt, 3. pi. subj. ad-fessat fr. O. C.
*ad-ved-s-o-nt. (As the full root is veid, the correct form would be
ad-fiassat; the e is due to the influence of e- verbs, \ikefedid 'leads.')
2. All the other verbs have the a- subjunctive.
Its stem is formed by adding the suffix -a- to the common
verbal stems ; of course the thematic vowel, the nasal and
palatal suffixes, and the infixed -n-, which are used in forming
the present stem of radical verbs, do not appear in the subjunc-
tive-, future-, and preterite- stem.
e.g. be(i)rid ' carries,' 3. sg. pres. subj. ber(a)id fr. *bher-a-ti,
compositional form -bera fr. *bher-a-t ; -ben(a)id ' you strike,'
fr. *bhi-nd-te, compositional 3. sg. pres subj. -b'ia, fr. *bhi-d-t ;
gaibid 'takes' fr. *ghabh-i-ti, 3. sg. pres. subj. gab(a)id fr.
*ghabh-d-ti.
Note 1. — The final -a in the compositional 3. sg. pres. subj. of the
weak i- verbs is due to the influence of the other verbal classes
e.g. *ad-rlm-i-d-t (3. sg. pres. subj. of ad-rlmi 'reckons') would have
regularly given *ad-rime (cf. § 46) and not ad-rimea, as we have it in
O.^r.
Note 2. — In Mid. Ir. mairnid 'betrays' and at-baill 'dies' the
subjunctive stem has the normal vowel grade mer, g v el, while in the
present the reduced vowel grade mf, g v l appears, mairnid and at-baill
are analogical transformations of older *marnaid (I.E. *mr-nd-ti) and
*ad-ball (0. C. 1 ad-bahiat, I.E. *ad-g v l-nd-t). Similarly those radical verbs,
which form their present stem by means of a palatal suffix (§ 175, 3)
and show a reduced vowel grade in the present, as gainithir (fr.
* gn-je-trai) ' is born ' or the compounds of -moinethar (fr. *-mn-je-tro),
show the normal vowel grade (fan, men) in the subjunctive.
1 In I.E. the suffix -?;«- was used in the sg. and -?is- in the pi., but in 0. C.
the -nd- was replaced by -na- (fr. *n?) in most instances.
90 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
§ 177. The Future and Secondary Future.
Of the future there are three types :
1. The /- future
is formed from almost all weak verbs and some radical verbs, as
e.g. the compounds of -ice, -moinethar, etc.
Its stem is formed by adding a suffix, whose consonant appears
as / or b ( = v). The b is always found in final position ; /
appears regularly in the interior of a word after consonants,
while in vowel-flanked position either b or/ may be found.
The / (b) shows in most instances palatal quality ; only occa-
sionally in I- verbs, more frequently in a- verbs, broad quality
may be found.
2. The s- future
is a reduplicated form of the s- subjunctive. A sigmatic future
and a sigmatic subjunctive regularly go together. Only the
compounds of -ic(c) have an s- subjunctive and a b- future. The
reduplication-vowel is -i-. Thus, e.g. claidid ' digs,' 3. sg. subj.
cldis fr. *klad-s-ti: 3 sg. fut. cechla is fr. *M-klddrS-ti, composi-
tional form -cechla fr. *7d-klad-s-t ; guidid ' prays,' 3. sg. subj.
geiss fr. *g v hedh-s-ti : 3. sg. fut. gigis fr. *g"hi-g v hedh-s-ti,
compositional form -gig fr. g"hi-g v hedh-s-t ; cf. further saigid
' makes for,' compositional 3. sg. subj. -sa fr. *sag-s-t and composi-
tional 3. sg. fut. -sia fr. *si-sdg-s-t ; ad-fet 'tells,' 3. sg. subj.
ad-fe : 3. sg. fut. ad-fi fr. *ad-vi-v. . . .
If the root begins with a vowel, it contracts with e or i to i ;
before o it remains, e.g. org(a)id 'slays,' compositional 3. sg.
subj. -orr : compositional 3. sg. fut. -lor, -iarr (§ 64).
Note 1. — No trace of reduplication is found in some compound
verbs, containing at least two preverbal prepositions, e.g. con-rig
'binds,' compositional 2. sg. fut. -riris fr. *ri-rig-s-ei, but ar-fuirset, 3.
pi. of ar-fuirig, 'detains.'
Note 2. — In some verbs, as rethid 'runs,' saiJiJ 'sits,' etc., the
subjunctive forms serve to express the future tense.
3. The reduplicated and e- future.
ACCIDENCE 91
a. The reduplicated future is a reduplicated form of the a-
subjunctive, the reduplication vowel being i.
Thus, e.g. gainithir ' is born ' (fr. *gn-je-trai), 3. sg. pres. subj.
genaithir (fr. *gen-d-trai): 3. sg. fut. gignithir (fr. *gi-g'en-a-
trai); canid 'sings,' compositional 3. sg. pres. subj. -cana:
compositional 3. sg. fut. cechna (fr. O. C. *ki-kan-d-t).
b. The e- future is in origin only a particular kind of redupli-
cated future. It arose regularly in verbs whose future-stems
go back to a time when the reduplicated future was still
formed from the reduced root form, e.g. celid 'conceals,' 3. sg.
fut. cdl(a)id (fr. *fci-fd-d-ti), fo-geir ' inflames,' 3. sg. secondary
fut. fo-gerad (fr. *upo-g v hi-g v hr-arto), and thence spread more
and more as a convenient type. Hence be(i)rid ' carries,' 3. sg.
fut. ber(a)id, gaibid ' takes,' 3. sg. fut. geb{a)id, etc.
Note. — The na- and nu- verbs (§ 175, 4) have in the composi-
tional 3 sg. fut. the ending -i e.g. len{a)id 'follows' (fr. 0. C.
Hi-na-ti) • compositional 3. sg. fut. -Mi. 0. C. *-li-li-d-t, the reduplicated
form of the subjunctive *-li-d-t, 0. Ir. -lia, would have given *-lile.
ben(a)id ' cuts ' shows no trace of reduplication in the future, e.g. 3.
secondary fut. no-b'iad.
§ 178. Active and Deponent Preterite and Perfect.
Of this tense there are three types.
1. The s- preterite and perfect
is formed from all weak verbs (and some radical verbs, as
gaibid ' takes,' ad-glddathar ' addresses,' etc.).
Its stem is formed by adding -88- to the short form (§ 128) of the
suffix (§ 173, i ), e.g. car(a)id 'loves ' (pres. stem car-d-) : 3. sg.
pret. carais (fr. *carassi, O. C. *kar-d-s-ti), compositional form
-car (fr. *carass, O. C. *kar-a-s-t).
On the hiatus-verbs, see § 181.
2. The t- preterite and perfect
is formed from radical verbs in -I, -r and from some in -m and
-g. There is no deponent inflexion.
Its stem is formed by adding -t-, thus e.g. do-meil ' consumes '
92 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
3. sg. pret. do-melt (fr. *to-mel-t), contracted form (after the
particles and conjunctions mentioned in § 53) -tomalt (fr. *-tb-
mel-t) ; berid ' carries,' compositional 1. sg. pret. -biurt, fr. 0. C
*ber-t-o (=I.E. 3. sg. *bhert + o).
3. The reduplicated preterite and perfect
is formed from all the other radical verbs.
There are two types,
(a) really reduplicated forms. The reduplication vowel was
regularly e, but in roots ending in i this vowel seem to have
been introduced as reduplication vowel; in roots ending in a
consonant the root vowel appears in the deflected vowel grade
(§ 129), thus e.g. ligid 'licks' (fr. I.E. High-e-ti), 3. sg. perf.
ro-lelaig (fr. I.E. le-loigh-e ; the i of the present stem is the
reduced vowel grade of ci), cingid ' steps ' (fr. I.E. *kheng-e-ti),
3. sg. perf. ro-cechaing (fr. I.E. *pro-khe-khong-e), while in roots
ending in a vowel, the root-vowel has been lost, e.g. -len(a)id
' you follow ' (fr. I.E. Hi-nd-te) : 3. sg. perf. ro-lil (0. C. *ro-li-l-e),
-cren(a)id ' you sell ' (fr. I.E. *k v ri-nd-te) : 3. sg. perf. ro-ciuir (fr.
O. C. *ro-k v i-k v r-e, cf. § 115) etc.
(b) Forms without reduplication.
The root-vowel appears as a (fr. I.E. o) or % (fr. I.E. e) in
O. Ir., e.g. te(i)chid ' flees,' 3. sg. pret. tdich (fr. I.E. Hok-e) ;
guidid 'prays/ 1. sg. perf. ro-gdd (fr. I.E. *pro-g v hodh-a) ;
midithir 'judges,' 3. sg. perf. deponent ro-midair, etc.
Note. — ben(a)id 'cuts' forms its preterite from the aorist-stem
0. C. *bl, e.g. 3. sg. perf. ro-bi, fr. 0. C. *ro-bl-e ; 3 pi. perf. ro-Uotar, fr.
*ro-bl-ontro.
For the preterite of tiagu ' I go ' the aorist-stem I.E. *ludh is used,
e.g. -luid ' went ' f r. 0. C. *lud-e.
The perfect of ro-cluinethar 'hears' is cual(a)e fr. *ku-Jclov-e, with
analogical u.
4. The perfect x is commonly distinguished from the preterite
by the addition of ro- or other particles (see § 174). The pre-
terite is the narrative tense. Further, it is used in indirect
1 This short section (4) is taken from Strachan's Selections, p. 61.
ACCIDENCE 93
speech to represent a present of direct speech ; it is used in a
modal sense, e.g. ni boi ' there were not ' ; further after nnad-
' well,' e.g. mad-genatar ' blessed are ' and after 6 'since.'
The perfect marks the occurrence of an action in past time
from the point of view of the present. Such action may fall
within the recent experience of the speaker (or the person
spoken to), or within his more remote experience, or it may fall
in an indefinite past. In subordinate clauses, the perfect may
denote action prior to the action of the main verb.
§ 179. Passive Preterite and Perfect.
There is only one formation. The non-compositional forms
(originally identical with the passive participle ?) may have been
formed by means of the old suffix -tjo-, -tjd, e.g. marbaid ' kills ' :
marbthae, fr. *mrvd-tjo-(-tjd) ; the e and the broad th in brethae
(fr. berid ' carries ') would be due to the influence of the com-
positional forms. The latter are formed by means of the suffix
-to-, -to-, e.g. ro-breth ' he has been carried ' fr. *pro-bhr-to-s ; in
the plural the feminine form is used for all genders, e.g. ni-
onarbtha ' they have not been killed ' (fr. *rnrvd-tds), do-bretha
' they have been given ' fr. *to-bhr-tds. Other examples are
bong(a)id 'breaks' : -bocht (fr. *bhog-io-); ad-fit ' tells ' : ad-fess
(fr. *-vid-to- ; cf. § 94.) ; do-moinethar ' believes ' : do-met (fr.
*to-mn-to-) ; ad-ci ' sees ' : ad-cess (fr. *ad-k"is-to-), etc.
Note. — In radical verbs the root originally always showed the
reduced vowel-grade, as in ro-cleth (fr. *pro-fcl-to-) fr. celid 'hides,'
ro-breth, etc. But through the influence of other verbal forms the
normal vowel grade has often been restored.
§ 180. Passive Participle and Participle of Necessity.
These participles are (verbal) adjectives and hence always
stressed on the first syllable. The participle of necessity looks
in most instances like a dat. sg. fern, of the passive participle,
though it is of different origin, e.g. do-eim ' protects,' part. pass.
dite (fr. *de-em-tjo-) : part. nee. diti ; guidid ' prays,' part. pass.
gesse (h. *g"hedh-tjo-): part. nee. gessi ; ad-rimi 'reckons,' part,
pass, dirmithe (fr. *ad-rlml-tjo-) : part. nee. dirmithi, etc.
94 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Note. — The part. nee. cannot be inflected. The dative plur.,
which occurs thirteen times in Ml., e.g. betis imgabthib (fr.
im-gaib) ' that they should have been avoided,' is an artificial
formation.
§ 181. Hiatus-verbs.
In hiatus-verbs, i.e. verbs whose root ended in a vowel or
s, v, j, x> which have been dropped in vowel-flanked position
the inflexion of radical and weak verbs has been mixed up very
early. Thus, e.g. ad-ci ' sees ' (fr. ^ad-k'is-e-t), contracted form
-aicci though being in origin a radical e/o verb, looks in the
present like an i- verb ; hence it has an a- subjunctive (deponent
inflexion), while in the contracted l passive the forms of the old s-
subjunctive have been preserved.
Otherwise all hiatus-verbs (except do-goa ' chooses ') seem to
have only an a- subjunctive, though some forms show the
influence of the s- subjunctive, as e.g. the compositional 1. sg.
-gneu (-gneo) fr. gniid ' does.'
In the future tense gniid ' does,' the cpds. of -goa and -ci
(but in the passive the latter have an s- future) and some other
verbs have the reduplicated future, while most of the hiatus-
verbs have probably an /- future.
In the preterite many verbs, as the cpds. of -ci and -goa, ciid
'weeps,' etc., have the reduplicated preterite, gniid shows a
mixture of the reduplicated and s- preterite (stem geniss, fr.
Pr. Ir. *ge-gniss-),
e.g. do-genis ' thou didst ' fr. Pr. Ir. *di-ge-gni-ss-e (I.E. *ei).
Not a few of the hiatus-verbs have, however, the s- preterite,
thus, e.g. ad-roillis (fr. Pr. Ir. *ad-ro-sli-ss-e) ' thou hast
deserved,' 1. sg. pres. ad-roilliu; ad-noi 'entrusts' I.E.
*ate-nev-e-t : 3. sg. perf. ad-ro-n(a)i, etc.
In such verbs as ad-roilli (3. sg.) the final vowel has been pre-
served, as only the various suffixes (§ 173, i.) were shortened in the
1 Most compound verbs have contracted and uncontracted forms. The con-
tracted forms are used after the particles and conjunctions mentioned in § 53,
2. be, after ro- and in the imperative. Thus, e.g. as-beir ' says' (fr. *eks-bheret),
but ni-epir 'he does not say' (fr. -bks-bheret).
ACCIDENCE 95
preterite (§ 178, 1), but not the root-vowels, while in such verbs
as ad-ro-n(a)i, the final vowel results from two subsequent
hiatus-vowels ; ad-ron(a)i instead of *ad-ro-n{a)e fr. 0. C. *ad-ro-
nuve + s-t is due to the influence of ad-roilli, etc.
Use of the Subjunctive Mood
§ 182. The subjunctive is used:
1. In principal and subordinate clauses as a subjunctive of
wish and will, and as a potential subjunctive ; further after bis
' perchance.'
2. In relative, temporal, conditional and concessive clauses
and in clauses of comparison (occasionally also in indirect
questions), when the action is to be marked as hypothetic,
prospective or general.
3. After re-siu 'before' and acid ' but that, provided that.'
4. In final clauses.
5. In 'that- clauses after verbs of effort, fearing, rejoicing,
grieving, wondering, happening, etc., and after certain imper-
sonal expressions denoting ' it happens, it is possible, necessary,
right,' etc.
Note. — But to express a fact or result the indicative is used. After
verbs of saying, thinking, showing, etc., the subjunctive is used only
when the 'that'- clause belongs to one of the categories given above
1-4.
6. In relative clauses of the form ' if it be they who do it,'
'let it be this that they do,' where the copula is in the subjunc-
tive or imperative, the following verb is also put in the sub-
junctive, e.g. bat hi berte (subj.) bretha lib ' let it be them who
give judgments among you ' ; bad lied dogneid ' let it be that
that ye do.'
PARADIGM OF WEAK VERBS
§ 183. Only the regular verbal-forms are given below. The
a- verbs are represented by scar(a)im(m) l ' I separate ' (fr.
*skra-mi), the i verbs by licim{m) x 'I leave,' the deponent
1 The unaspirated -mm of the 1. sg. is due to the influence of the copula am
(with unaspirated m), fr. *imm, *esmi (§ SI).
96
A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
inflexion by suidigur ' I place ' (£-verb ; an example of an d-
verb would be cbmalnur ' I fulfil ').
Indicative
§ 184. Non-compositional Present.
Sg. 1. scaraim(m)
Ucim(m)
suidigur
2. scarai
Uci
suidigther
3. scaraid
lecid
suidigidir
rel. scaras
Uces
suidigedar
PI. 1. scarmai
Uicmi
suidigmir
rel. scarmae
Uicme
suidigmer
2. scarthae
leicthe
suidigthe
3. scarait
Ucit
suidigitir
rel. scardae, scaraite
Uicde,Ucite
suidigetar
§ 185. Compositional Present.
Sg. 1. -scaraim(m),-scaru -lecim(m) > -Uc(i)u -suidigur
2. -scarai -Uci -suidigther
3. -scara -Uci -suidigedar
PI. 1. -scaram -Ucem -suidigmer
2. -scaraid -lecid -suidigid
3. -scarat -licet -suidigetar
% 186. Imperfect. (Only compositional forms, § 179, i a .)
Sg.l.
-scarainn
-Ucinn
-suidiginn
2.
-scartha
-Uicthea
-suidigthea
3.
-scarad
-Uced
-suidiged
PI. 1.
-scarmais
-leicmis
-suidigmis
2.
-scarthae
-leicthe
-suidigthe
3.
-scartais
-Uictis
-suidigtis
§ 187. Non-compositional Future.
(The a- verbs are mostly inflected like %- verbs, § 177, i.)
Sg. 1. [The cpds. of Uicfea suidigfer
2. scaraid have Uicfe suidigfider
ACCIDENCE
97
3. the e- future Uicfid
rel. like strong verbs.] leicfes
PI. 1. leicfimmi
rel. Uicfimme
2. leicjide
3. leicfit
rel. Uicfite
suidigjidir
suidigfedar
suidigfimmir
suidigfemmar
suidigfide
suidigfitir
suidigfetar
§ 188. Compositional Future.
Sg-
3.
PI. 1.
2.
3.
-lec(i)ub (§ 62) -suidigfer
-leicfe -siiidigfider
-leicfea -suidigfedar
-leicfem -suidigfemmar
-leicfid -suidigfid
-leicfet -suidigfetar
§ 189. Secondary
§ 174, la.)
Future. (Only compositional forms,
Sg-
PI.
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
-leicfinn
-leicfeda
-leicfed
-leicjimmis
-Uicfide
-leicfitis
-suidigjinn
-suidigfeda
-suidigfed
-suidigfimmis
-suidigfide
-suidigfitis
190. Non-compositional Preterite.
Sg.l.
2.
3.
rel.
PI. 1.
rel.
2.
3.
rel.
scarsu
scarsai
scarais
scaras
scarsaimmi
scarsaimme
?
scarsait
scarsaite
leicsiu
leicsi
lecis
leces
leicsimmi
leicsimme
7
leicsit
leicsite
G
?
?
suidigistir
suidigestar
7
7
7
suidigsitir
suidigsetar
98
A CONCISE OLD IEISH GRAMMAR
§ 191. Compositional Preterite.
Sg.l.
-scants
-lec(i)us (§ 62)
-suidigsiur
2.
-scarais
-lecis
-suidigser
3.
-scar
-Uic
-suidigestar
PL 1.
-scarsam
-Uicsem
-suidig seminar
2.
-scarsaid
-leicsid
-suidigsid
3.
-scar sat
-Uicset
Subjunctive
-suidigsetar
§192.
Non-compositional Present.
So- l
scara
lecea
suidiger
2.
scarae
lece
suidigther
3.
scaraid
lecid
suidigidir
rel.
scaras
leces
suidigedar
PL 1.
scarmai
leicmi
suidigmir
rel.
scarmae
leicme
suidigmer
2.
scarthae
Wiethe
suidigthe
3.
scarait
licit
suidigitir
rel.
scar dae, scar aite leicde, lecite
suidigetar
§193.
Compositional
Present.
So; 1
-scar
-leic
-suidiger
2.
-scarae
-lece
-suidigther
3.
-scara
-lecea
-suidigedar
PL 1.
-scaram
-lecem
-suidigmer
2.
-scaraid
-Ucid
-suidigid
3.
-scarat
-licet
-suidigetar
§194.
Preterite. (Only compositional forms, § 174, i a .)
Sg.l.
-scarainn
-Ucinn
-suidiginn
2.
-scartha
-Uicthea
-suidigthea
3.
-scar ad
-Weed
-suidiged
P1.1.
-scarmais
-leicmis
-suidigmis
2.
-scarthae
-leicthe
-suidigthe
3.
-scartais
-leictis
suidigtis
ACCIDENCE 99
Imperative
§ 195. (No distinction is made between compositional and
non-compositional endings.)
Sg. 2. scar leic suidigthe
3. scarad Uced suidiged
PL 1. scaram Ucem suidigmer
2. scar aid Ucid suidigid
3. scarat licet suidigetar
PASSIVE
(On the relative forms see § 173, 2.)
Indicative
§ 196. Non-compositional Present.
Sg. 3. scarthair leicthir suidigthir
PI. 3. scartair, scaraitir leictir, lecitir suidigtir
Compositional Present.
General form -scarthar -Uiciher -suidigther
PI. 3. -scartar ,-scaratar -Uicter,Ucetar suidigter
Imperfect (Only compositional forms, § 174, i a .)
General form -scarthae -Uictlte -suidigthe
-scartais -leictis -suidigtis.
§ 197. Non-compositional Future.
Sg. 3. (See § 187.) leicfidir suidigfidir
PI. 3. leicfitir suidigjitir
Compositional Future
General form -leicfider -suidigfider
PI. 3. -leicfiter -fetar -suidigfiter -fetar
Secondary Future (Only compositional forms, § 174, i a .)
General form -leicjide -suidigfide
PI. -leicfitis -suidigfitis
100 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
§ 198. Non-compositional Preterite
Sg. 3. (and rel.) scarthae leicthe suidigthe
PI. 3. (?) (?) (?)
Compositional Preterite
General form -scarad -Meed -suidiged
PI. 3. -scartha -leicthea -svAdigthea
Subjunctive
§ 199. Non-compositional Present
Sg. 3. scarthair leicthir suidigthir
PI. 3. scartair,scaraitir Uictir, lecitir suidigtir
Compositional Present
General form -scarthar -Uicther -suidigther
PI. 3. -scartar, -scar atar -leicter,-lecetar -suidigter
Preterite (Only compositional forms, § 174, i a .)
General form -scarthae -leicthe -suidigthe
PL 3. -scartais -leictis -suidigtis
Imperative
§ 200. (No distinction is made between compositional and
non-compositional endings.)
General form scarthar leicther suidigther
PI. 3. scartar leicter suidigter
Passive Participle
§ 201. scarthae leicthe suidigthe
Participle of Necessity
§ 202. scarthai leicthi suidigthi
ACCIDENCE
101
PARADIGMS OF RADICAL VERBS
§ 203. melid 'grinds' ( e / verb, § 175,1.)
As the complete paradigm cannot be restored with certainty, some
forms have been inserted from berid ' carries.'
Present Indicative
non-compositional
melim(m) l
*meli(?)
melid
meles
melmai
melmae
meilte (§ 84 b.)
melait
meldae, -tae
compositional
(-biur)
(-bir 2 )
-meil
Imperfect
only compositional
-melinn
-meled
Sg.l
2.
3.
rel.
PL 1. melmai -melam -me Urals
rel.
2. meilte (§ 84 b.) -melid ?
3. melait -melat -me(i)ltis
rel.
Note 1. — Occasionally the ending -u is found, e.g. biru 'I carry,'
tiagu 'I go.'
Note 2. — Many verbs have -i also in the compositional form, e.g.
ar-rethi ' thou assailest ' ; the i in -bir ' thou carriest ' (0. C. -*bere,
fr. I.E. Hherei) is due to the influence of the 1. sg. -biur.
e-Future
non-compositional compositional
Sg. 1. mela
2. milae
3. melaid
rel. melas
PI. 1. melmai
rel. melmae
2. meltae (§ 84 b.)
3. melait
rel. meldae, -tae
^-Preterite
non-compositional
-met
-melae
-mela
Secondary Future
only compositional
-melainn
-melta (§ 84 b.)
-melad
-melam
-melmais
-melaid
-melat
-meltae (§84 b.)
-meltais
Sg.l.
compositional
-miult
-me lit
Perfect
contracted forms
■ru-mult
-ru-m(a)llt
102 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
3. (birt)
rel. meltae
PI. 1. ?
rel. meltammar
2. ?
3. ?
rel. meltar, meltatar
-melt
-meltammar
-ru-malt
-ru-maltmar
-meltaid -ni-maltaid
-meltar, meltatar -ru-malt{at)ar
Present Subjunctive
non-compositional
mela
melae
melaid
melas
melmai
melmae
So- 1
2.
3.
rel.
PI. 1.
rel.
2.
3.
rel.
compositional
-met
-melae
-mela
Past Subjunctive
only compositional
-melainn
-melta (§84 b.)
-melad
■melam
-melmais
meltae (§ 84 b.) -melaid
melait -melat
meldae, -tae
-meltae (§ 84 b.)
-meltais
Imperative
(No distinction is made between compositional and
non-compositional endings.)
Sg. 1. PI. 1. melam
2. meil 2. melid
3. meled 3 3. melat
Note 3. — The ending -ad appears occasionally instead of -ed (fr. *-e-to)
through influence of the 3. pi. (-at, fr. *-ont).
Note 4. — From tiagu 'I go,' comes a 1. sg. ipv. Uag with the sense of
*I will go.'
PASSIVE
(On the relative forms see § 173, 2.)
Present Indicative Imperfect
non-compositional compositional only compositional
3. melair -melar -meilte (§ 84 b)
PI. 3. meltair -meltar -me(i)ltis
Sg
ACCIDENCE 103
e- Future Secondary Future
non-compositional compositional only compositional
Sg. 3. meltair (§ 84 b) -meltar (§ 84 b) meltae (§ 84 b)
PI. 3. meltair -meltar -meltais
Preterite Perfect
non-compositional compositional contracted forms
Sg. 3. mlethae -mleth -ro-mlad
PI. 3. (?) -mletha -ro-malta (§ 67)
Present Subjunctive Past Subjunctive
non-compositional compositional only compositional
Sg. 3. meltair (§ 84 b) -meltar (§ 84 b) -meltae (§ 84 b)
PI. 3. meltair -meltar -meltais
Imperative
(No distinction is made between compositional and
non-compositional endings.)
General form (3. sg.) melar
PI. 3. meltar
Passive Participle Participle of Necessity
mlithe mlithi
§ 204. canid ' sings ' (e\o verb, § 175, i).
In the Present and Imperfect Indicative Active, as well as
in the Present and Past Subjunctive Active, it is inflected like
melid (§ 203). In the 1 sg. compositional pres. the non-com-
positional canaim(m) is used besides the regular -cun (fr.
*-caun).
Reduplicated Future Secondary Future
non-compositional compositional only compositional
-cechan -cechnainn
-cechnae -cechnatha
-cechna -cechnad
Sg. 1.
cechna
2.
cechnae
3.
cechnaid
rel.
cechnas
104 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
PI. 1. cechnaimmi (?) -cechnam
rel. cechnaimme (?)
2. cechnaithe (?)
3. cechnait
rel. cechnaite (?)
Reduplicated Preterite
■cechnaimmis (?)
-cechnaid
-cechnat
-cechnaithe
-cechnaitis
non-compositional
Sg. 1. cechan (?)
2. ?
3. cechain
rel. cechnae
PI. 1. cechnaimmir (?)
rel. cechnammar
2. ?
3. cechnaitir
rel. cechnatar
compositional
-cechan
-cechan
-cechain
Perfect
contracted forms
-roichan
-roichan
-roichain
-cechnammar -roichnammar
-cechnaid
-cechnatar
-roichnid
-roichnatar
The Present and Past Subjunctive as well as the Imperative
Active are inflected like melid.
PASSIVE
(On the relative forms see § 173, 2.)
In the Passive the Present Indicative and Subjunctive, the
Imperfect, and the Past Subjunctive and Imperative are
inflected like melid.
Reduplicated Future Secondary Future
non-compositional compositional only compositional
Sg. 3. cechnaithir -cechnathar -cechnaithe (?)
PI. 3.
cechnaitir
-cechnatar
Preterite
non-compositional compositional
S£. 3. cetae -cet
PL 3.
(?)
-ceta
-cechnaitis (?)
Perfect
contracted forms
-ro-chet
-ro-cheta
ACCIDENCE
105
Passive Participle Participle of Necessity
cite ceti
§ 205. guidid ' prays' (§ 175, 3).
In the Present and Imperfect Indicative Active it is inflected
like an -i-verb (lecid) except in the compositional 3 sg. pres.
ind. (-guid fr. *g*hodh-i-t ; cf. § 173, 1).
In the non-compositional 1 sg. pres. ind. the form guidiu ' I
pray ' occurs beside the regular guidim(m).
s-Future Secondary Future
non-compositional compositional only compositional
Sg. 1.
2.
3.
rel.
PI. 1.
rel.
2.
3.
rel.
gigsea
gigsi
gigis
giges
gigsimmi
gigsimme
gigestae
gigsit
gig site
-gigius
-gigis
-9^9
-gigs inn
2
-gigsed
-gigsem
-gigsimmis
-gigsid
-gigset
-gigsitis
Sg.
a-Preterite (§ 178, 3b.)
non-compositional compositional
-gad
-gad
-gdid
-gddammar
Perfect
contracted forms
-ro-gad
-ro-gad
-ro-gaid
1. gad (?)
2. ?
3. gdid
rel. gdde
PL 1. ?
rel. gddammar
2. ?
3. ?
rel. gddatar
Present (s-) Subjunctive Past Subjunctive
non-compositional compositional only compositional
Sg. 1. ? x -gess -gessinn
2. gessi -geiss ?
-gddid
-gddatar
106 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
-ge -gessed
3.
rel.
geiss
gess
L 1.
rel.
2.
gesmai
gesmae
2
3.
rel.
gessait
gestae
-gessam -gesmais
2
-gessid
-gessat -gestais
Note 1. — The only example I have of the non-compositional 1 sg.
is tlasu, pres. tiagu 'I go.' Perhaps the other verbs had the ending -a
as in the s- future (§ 177, 2).
The Imperative Active is inflected like lecid.
PASSIVE
(On the relative forms see § 173, 2).
The Present Indicative, the Imperfect and the Imperative
are inflected like Ucid.
s-Future Secondary Future
non-compositional compositional only compositional
Sg. 3. gigsithir -gigsethar -gigestae
PL 3. gigsitir -gigsetar -gigsitis
Preterite Perfect
non-compositional compositional contracted forms
Sg. 3. gessae (?) -gess ?
PL 3. (?) -gessa ?
Present Subjunctive Past Subjunctive
non-compositional compositional only compositional
Sg. 3. gessair -gessar -gestae
PL 3. gessaitir -gessatar -gestais
Passive Participle Participle of Necessity
ge(i)sse ge(i)ssi
ACCIDENCE
107
§ 206. renaid 'sells' (-na- verb; § 175, 4).
Present Indicative Imperfect
non-coinpositional compositional only compositional
-renainn
-renta
-renad
-renaim(m)
-renai
-ren
-renam
-renaid
-renat
Sg. 1. renaitn(m)
2. renal
3. renaid
rel. renas
PI. 1. renmai
rel. renmae
2. rentae (§ 84 b)
3. renait
rel. rentae, -dae
Reduplicated Future
non-compositional compositional
-ririu
-rire
-riri
-rirem
Sg.l.
?
2.
rire
3.
2
rel.
rires
PI. 1.
rirmi (?)
rel.
rirme (?)
2.
rirthe (?)
3.
7"iri£
rel.
Write
-ririd
-riret
Reduplicated Preterite
non-compositional compositional
Sg.l.
?
-rer (?)
2.
2
-rer (?)
3.
rir (?)
-rir
rel.
PL 1.
1 Of t>
2
2
rel.
2.
?
?
?
3.
2
-rertar
rel.
rertar,
-dar
•dar
•renmais
■rentae (§ 84 b)
-rentais
Secondary Future
only compositional
-rirthinn (?)
-rirthea (?)
-rirecZ
-rirmis (?)
-rirthe (?)
-rirtis (?)
Perfect
(Of contracted
forms I have no
examples.)
108 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Present Subjunctive Past Subjunctive l
non-compositional compositional only compositional
-rieinn (?)
-r'iad
-remmis (?)
Sg. l.
?
-reu
2.
viae (?)
-viae
3.
r'ieid (?)
-via
rel.
runs (?)
PI. 1.
reimmi (?)
-r'iam
rel.
2.
reimme (?)
reithe (?)
-r'ieid (?)
3.
rieii (?)
-r'l'ai
rel.
refe
-retis
The Imperative Active is inflected like scaraid.
PASSIVE
(On the relative forms see § 173, 2).
Present Indicative Imperfect
non-compositional compositional only compositional
Sg. 3. renair -renar -rentae (§ 84 b)
PL 3. rentair -rentar -rentais
Reduplicated Future Secondary Future
non-compositional compositional only compositional
Sg. 3. rirthir -rirther -rirthe (?)
PL 3. rirtir (?) -rirter (?) -rirtis (?)
Preterite Perfect
non-compositional compositional (Of contracted
Sg. 3. rithae -rith
PL 3. (?) -ritha (?)
forms I have
examples.)
no
1 The subj. stem via- is a later formation, due to the influence of cr'ia (fr.
crenaid ' buys ') ; there are still traces of the old subj. stem era- (inflected like
the subj. of melid), formed from the full root *per{d) (cf. § 176, i, nole .). But em-
has a different meaning, e.g. ro-era ' may he grant.'
Sg.3.
PI. 3.
ACCIDENCE 109
Present Subjunctive Past Subjunctive
non-compositional compositional only compositional
rethir -r ether -rethe
retir -reter (?) -retis
The Imperative Passive is inflected like melid
Passive Participle
rithe
Participle of Necessity
reiki (?)
§ 207. gainithir ' is born ' (deponent verb,
(On the relative forms, see § 173,
Present Indicative
non-compositional compositional
Sg. 1. gainiur -gainiur
2. gainter (§ 84 b) -gainter (§ 84 b)
3. gainithir -gainethar
PL 1. gainimmir -gainemmar
2. gainte (§ 84 b) -gainid
3. gainitir -gainetar
Sg.l.
2.
3.
§ 175, 3).
2>
Imperfect
only compositional
-gaininn
etc.
The inflexion is
the same as in
active verbs. (Cf.
gitidid, § 198.)
Sg.l.
2.
3.
gigner
gignither
gignithir
PI. 1.
2.
3.
gignimmir
gignithe
gignitir
-gignmn
etc. (§ 173, 4 ).
Reduplicated Future Secondary Future
non-compositional compositional only compositional
-gigner
-gignither
-gignethar
-gignemmar
-gignid
-gignetar
Reduplicated Preterite Perfect
non-compositional compositional (Of contracted
? -ginar forms I have no
? -genar examples.)
genair -gdnair
110 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
PI. 1. ? -ge'nammar
2 . ? -gdnaid
3. ? -ginatar
Present Subjunctive Past Subjunctive
non-compositional compositional only compositional
Sg. 1. genar -genar -genainn
2. gentar (§ 84 b) -gentar (§ 84 b) etc. (like melainn)
3. genaithir -genathar
PI. 1. genaimmir (?) -genammar
2. gentae (§ 84 b) -genaid
3. genaitir -genatar
Imperative
Sg. 1. PI. 1. gainem, -emmar
2. gainte (§ 84 b) 2. gainid
3. gained 3. gainetar
The Passive of deponent verbs is formed exactly like that of
active verbs of the same class.
Thus, e.g. do-moinethar ' thinks ' : compositional 3. sg. pres.
ind. pass, do-mointer (fr. O. C. *to-man-i-toro) like fo-gaibiher
(0. C. *vo-gab-i-toro) fr. the active fo-gaib ' finds.'
§ 208. THE SUBSTANTIVE VERB
Indicative Mood
Present
Imperfect
Sg. 1. (at)-tdu,
-fc*
-biinn
2. -tai
?
3. -fcfc
-bith
PI. 1. -taam
?
2. -ta(a)'id
?
3. -fcxa£
•bitis
As the relative form the impersonal/^, (fell, f el, fail) and /We
ACCIDENCE
111
(fele) are used ; -fit (but not^e) is also used after the particles
and conjunctions mentioned in § 53, 2, c, d,e, except before an
infixed pronoun expressing a dative relation (e.g. ni-m-thd ' I
have not,' but ni-m-fil 'I am not'), further in answers and
(archaic) in order to bring forward emphatically any part of a
sentence. In composition (for-td ' is upon,' do-es-ta ' is wanting,'
etc.), only -td can be used.
Note 1. at-td has no contracted (§ 181 footnote) forms; after the
particles and conjunctions mentioned in § 53, 2, b-e, the preverbal
preposition ad- is always dropped (§ 210, note 2).
Note 2. There is also a non-compositional 3. sg. tdith, which is
in poetry and sometimes in prose used with suffixed pronouns.
Consuetudinal Present
non-compositional compositional relative
Sg.l.
2.
3.
PL 1.
2.
3.
biuu
2
b'iid
bimmi
b'iit
-biu
-bi
-bi
-b'iam
-Mid (?)
-Mat
bis
bimme
bite
Imperative
Sg. 2. bi PI. 1. blid
3. bith 2. biat
Sg.l.
2.
3.
rel.
PI. 1.
2.
3.
rel.
Future (cf. § 174, 3, note.) Secondary Future
non-compositional compositional only compositional
b'ia
b'iae
b'ie(i)d
bias
be(i)mmi
be(i)the (?)
b'ie(i)t
be(i)te
-biae (?)
-b'ia
-b'iam
-b'ieid
-biat
■beinn
■biad
■bemmis
■betis
J 12 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Preterite * Perfect
non-compositional compositional contracted forms
So - . 1. ? -ha -ro-ba
2. ? -bd -ro-ba
3. boi -boi -ro-b{a)e, -ra-b(a)e
rel. bole
PI. 1. ? -bdmmar -ro-bammar
2. ? -baid -ro-baid
3. 6(i^ar -bdtar -ro-batar, -ra-batar
Subjunctive Mood
Present
non-compositional compositional contracted forms
(with -ro)
Sg. 1. beu {bed) -bin {-bed) ?
2. bee ? ?
3. fceitft. beid, beth -be -roi-b
bed
rel. bess
PL 1. be(i)mmi -bem -ro-bam
2. be{i)the -beith, -beid -ro-b(a)ith
3. belt -bet -ro-bat
rel. bete
Past Subjunctive
Sg. 1. -beinn PI. 1- -bemmis
2. -beiha 2. -bethe
3. -beth, -bed (contracted : ro-bad) 3. -betis (contracted :
-roi-btis)
PASSIVE (Impersonal Forms)
Present Indicative : (at)-tdthar ; relative : /^er.
Consuetudinal Present: non-compositional bithir; composi-
tional -hither.
1 The 3. sg. is from I.E. *bhove, the other persons are formed from I.E. stem
*bhvd-.
ACCIDENCE
113
Preterite and Perfect : non-compositional bothae ; composi-
tional -both.
Present Subjunctive: non-compositional bethir; composi-
tional -bether.
Participle of Necessity : buithi.
§209.
The Copula.
Present Indicative
non-compositional
compositional
Sg. 1.
am (fr. *esmi)
I.
II.
ni-ta -da
-da
2.
at, (it)
ni-ta -da
-da
3.
is
nl
■d, 4,
-, -(d)id
rel.
as
PI. 1.
ammi (ammin(n))
ni-tam -tan, -dan
-dan
2.
adib (idib)
ni-tad -dad
-dad
3.
it
ni-tat -dat
-dat
rel.
ata (at)
Note 1. — The compositional forms in the first column are used after
the negative m 'not,' after cani 'is not 1 ?' and sechi 'whosoever is'
(3. pi. also sechi-t).
In negative relative clauses in the 3. sg. ndd, in the 3. pi. natat are
found ; under the conditions mentioned in § 28, the 3 sg. shows the
forms nant, nan(d), nat, ndt, ndich, ndch, nach, in the 3. pi. the form
nandat.
Note 2. — The compositional forms in the second column are used after
a relative which includes a preposition (also after i" 'in which'), after
the conjunctions mentioned in §53, 2d, the interrogative particle in
and in the relative first and second persons after an eclipsing (§ 28) no-.
The a of the relative preceded by a preposition is changed to i when
preceded by a consonant.
Examples of the 3. sg. are: arndid, arin 'for which is'; diemdid,
diant 'to whom is'; in(n) 'is he?'; lassin(n) 'with whom is'; condid,
conid 'so that is,' etc.
114 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
Note 3. — With ce (da) 'though' and ma 'if' the copula appears in
the 3. sg. as cesu (dasu), ceso (ciaso), masu, maso (with negative : manid,
canid) ; in the 3. pi. as cetu, ceto, matu.
For the Consuetudinal Present the shortened forms of the
substantive verb are used, e.g. ni-bi, ni-pi 'he is not wont
to be.'
Imperative
Sg. 1.
2. ba
3. bad, bed, pad
PI. 1. ban (badn Wb. 5 d 22)
2. bad, bed
3. bat
Future
non-compositional compositional
Sg. 1. be ?
2. ? -ba
3. bid, bith
rel. bes, bas
PL 1. bemmi, bimmi
ba(m)mi
2. ?
3. bit
rel. beta
-ba, -pa
-bat, -pat
Secondary Future
Sg. 3. -bad, -pad
PL 3. -btis, -ptis
Unlike other verbs
there is also a non-
compositional 3 sg. bed.
negative Perfect
Preterite (and Imperfect)
non-compositional compositional
Sg. 1. ba-sa -b-sa, -p-sa, -sa, -b
2. ? -b-sa, -sa
3. (and rel.) ba -bo, -po, -bu, -pu
PL 1. ? bommar, bummar
2. ? ?
3. batir, batar -btar, -ptar, -tar, -dar ni-ru-btar beside
con-narbtar
rel. batar
Note 4. — The compositional forms of the preterite and the com-
positional perfect-forms are also used after ce (da) ' though.' -sa is the
emphasising pronoun. On the elision of the vowel of to- in the forms
ni-r-b-sa
ni-r-b-sa
ni-r-bo, ni-r-bu
ni-r-bommar
2
ACCIDENCE 115
of the perfect see § 77. The b (p) is dropped (§ 103) after eclipsing
particles (§§ 28, 30), e.g. a (r)romtar (ro-m-btar) 'when they have been,'
etc.
Present Subjunctive
non-compositional compositional
Sg. 1. ba -ba, -pa
2. ba -ba
3. ba -b, -p, — , -dib, -dip (-ho, -po, -bu, -pu)
rel. bes, bas
PL 1. ? -ban
2. bede bad (-baid)
3. ? -bat, -pat
rel. bete, beta, bata
Note 5. — In the 3. sg. the usual form is -b, -p. The form -dib, -dip is
found after ara n ' in order that ' (a(i)rndip beside arim(p)), i" ' in which,'
the interrogative in (indip beside im(b), imp) and co n 'so that, until ';
also after na (nadip beside nap, nab), robo, nipo, etc., are rare beside
the regular rop, nip, etc.
ceni 'though not,' mani 'if not,' ara n 'in order that' are shortened
to tin, main, a(i)r n (ar m ) before syllabic compositional forms.
Note 6. — With ce (cia) 'though' and ma 'if the copula appears in
the 3. sg. as cid (cith, ced, ceith), mad, in the 3. pi. as cit, mat. But with
the interrogative ce (cia) the copula appears in the 3. sg. as cip, cib
('whosoever it be,' etc.).
Past Subjunctive
non-compositional compositional
Sg. 1. ? -bin, -benn
2. ? -ptha
3 (and rel.). bid, bed, bad -bad, -pad, -bed
PL 1. bemmis, bimmis -bim(m)is
2. ? ?
3. betis, bitis -btis, -ptis, (-dis, -lis)
Note 7. — Unlike other verbs the past subj. of the copula has also
non-compositional forms. ara n 'in order that,' mani 'if not' are
shortened to a(i)r m , main. The b (p) is dropped after eclipsing
particles (§§ 28, 30, 103), e.g. comtis (co m-btis) 'so that they might be ' ;
116 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
by the side of armad (ara n -{-bad), airmtis, occur forms like arbed, ardis
(see p. 10, footnote).
Note 8. — With ce (da) 'though ' and ma 'if,' the copula appears in
3. sing, as cid, mad, in the 3. pi. as matis.
Miscellaneous Paradigms of Radical and Irregular Verbs
§ 210. (Where not otherwise stated, only the 3. sg. has been
given.)
ad-ci, -aicci 'sees' (§ 181), 1. sg. ad-ciu, pass, ad-cither,
-accastar; subj. ad-cethar, -accathar, sg. 1 ad-cear, -accar, pass.
ad-cether, -accastar; past. subj. ad-ceth; fut. ad-cichi, pass.
ad-cichestar ; preterite con-accae, cf. § 174, 4; perf. ad-con-dairc ;
pret. pass, con-accas, -accas; perf. pass, ad-cess, -accas (§ 179).
ad-fet (§ 84 d, note) 'relates,' pi. ad-fiadat; subj. ad-fe
(§ 176, 1), pi. ad-fessat; ro- subj. (174, 2 e) 1. sg. ad-cous, -4c{i)us
(§ 62 note), pass, -ecestar; fut. ad-fi (§ 177, 2), pi. ad-fessat; perf.
ad-cuaid, -icaid ; pret. pass, ad-fess ; perf. pass, ad-coas.
aingid 'protects,' -anich; impv. 2. sing, am; subj. -am, pi.
-ftmse£(§ 176, 1); fut. § 177,2, note 2; pret. -anacht (§ 178, 2),
pass, -anacht.
benaid 'strikes, slays,' -ben (§ 175, 4); subj. -b'ia, end -be
(§ 176, 2); pret. -bi, encl. -6(i), pi. -beotar (§ 178, 3, note), pass.
bith ; part. pass, bithe, part. nee. &e£/*i.
berid ' carries,' -beir, pass, -berr, -berar ; ro- present (§ 174, 2 b),
ro-uc(c)ai, -ruc(c)ai ; subj. -fcera ; ro- subj. (§ 174, 2 e) -rwc(c)<x ; fut.
-bera; pret. -6er£, pass, -breth; perf. ro-uic(c), ro-uc, -rue, pi.
-rucsat, pass, ro-ucad, -rucad. Cf. note 1.
bongid ' breaks ' (§ 175, 2), -boing ; subj. -60', pi. -6o'sa£ ; fut. 1 sg.
bibsa, -bibus(§ 177, 2) ; pret. bebaig, pass, -bocht.
-cuirethar ' throws, puts' (-1- verb, § 173, 1), imperative 2. sg.
cuirthe, cuire, pi. cuirid; pres. subj. -corathar (176, 2); perf.
-corastar; the future tense and the ro- forms (§ 174, 2) as well
as the non-compositional forms of the other tenses are supplied
from fo-ceird. The cpd. do-cuirethar, when used in the sense of
' takes to himself, invites,' has a future 1. sg. do-cuirifar and a
perfect do-rochuircstar.
ACCIDENCE 117
con-ic(c) 'is able,' -cumaing, 3. pi. con-ecat, -cumcat (fr.
*cumngat, j). 10, footnote) ; subj. con-i, -cum{ai), pi. -cuimsct;
fut. 1 sg. con-icub, -cumgub ; sec. fut. con-icfed, -cumcaibcd ;
pret. and perf. (§ 174, 3) con-dnacuir, -coimnacuir. (Only ad-
cumaing ' it happens ' has the active inflexion in the pret.
ad-comnicc.)
do-beir ' gives,' ' brings,' -tabair, is inflected like berid. In the
sense of 'brings' it has a ro- present (§174, 2 b) do-uccai,-tuccai ; ro-
subj. -tucca ; perf. do-uic, -tuic(c), -tuc, pi. do-ucsat, pass. -tuc(c)ad,
-tuiced. There is also an imperative tuic (2. sg.) beside the
regular tabair. Cf. note 1.
In the sense of 'gives' it has a ro-present (§ 174, 2b) do-rati;
ro- subj. do-rata, -iarta ; perf. do-rat, -tarat, pi. do-ratsat, -tartsat
and -tartisset, pass, do-ratad, -tardad.
do-gni 'does,' -denai (§ 181), ro-present do-ronai, -dernai,
1. sg. do-gniu, -denaim; imp v. 2. sg. denae; subj. do-gni, -dena;
ro- subj. do-rona, -derna; fut. do-gena, -di'gnea; pret. do-geni,
-digni; pass, do-gnith, -denad; perf. do-rigni, do-rigeni,
-deirgeni, -deirgni -derni (§ 181), pass, do-ronad, -demad ; part,
nee. deinti, ddntai.
do-ic(c) 'comes,' -tic(c), pi. do-ec(c)at, -tec(c)at; subj. do-i,
-ti, pi. do-isat, -tisat; fut. do-icf(e)a, -ticf(e)a; pret. and perf.
(174, 3) do-dnaic(c), -tdnaic(c). Cf. note 1.
do-te(i)t 'comes,' pi. do-tiagat is generally inflected like te(i)t
' goes,' save in the 2. pers. impv. (sg. tair, pi. twit) ; to-tl . . .
becomes tai . . . (§ 110) in contracted forms, e.g. do-tiag 'I come'
(fr. *to-tegii, older *-(s)teighd): -taig, do-te(i)t 'comes': -tait, etc.
In the future the contracted form of do-rega, do-riga is -terga,
-tirga through influence of the reduplication-vowels of other
verbs. Cf. note 4.
do-tuit falls, -tuit, pass, tuiter; subj. do-toth, -toth (fr. *-£o-
titd-s-t), pi. do-todsat, -todsat; fut. do-toeth, -toeth (fr. *-to-ti-
tud-s-t); pret. do-cer ; pref. do-rucltair, -tbrcha{i)r. Cf. note 3.
fo-ceird 'throws' (cf. -cuirethar) ; subj. fo-ceirr-, ro- subj.
-rala; fut. fo-cicherr, -foicherr (§ 110); pret. fo-cdird (§§ 118,
178, 3b). pass, fo-cress; perf. ro-/«, -ralae, pass, ro-laad,
-ralad.
118 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
fo-gaib 'finds'; subj. fo-gaba; fut. fo-gdba; pret. and perf.
(§ 174, 3) fo-fuair, -ftiair, pass, fo-frith, -frith. Cf. note 2.
midithir 'judges' (§ 175, 3); subj. 1. sg. messtir, 2. messer,
3. mestir, -mesiar, 1. pi. messiinir, -messamar, 2. meste, -messid,
3. 'messitir, -messatar, pass. sg. mess(a)ir, -messar, rel. mestar,
pi. messitir, -messatar ; the fut. is identical with the subj. except
the 3. persons sg. miastir, miastar- (act. and pass.) ; pret. -midair,
pass, -mess, part. pass. me(i)sse, part. nee. me{i)ssi.
ro-cluinethar 'hears' -cluinetJtar ; subj. ro-cloathar ; fut. ro-
cechladar, pass, ro-cechlastar ; pret. co-cualae (fr. * -lew-klov-e)>
pass, co-closs (-cloth) cf. § 174, 4; perf. ro-ciialae, pass, ro-closs
(-cloth). Cf. note 2.
ro-fitir 'knows, knew,' pres. and pret. 1. sg. ro-fetar, 2.
-fetar, 3. -^ir, 1. pi. -jitemmar, -fetammar, 2. -^/i^icZ, 3. -fltetar
-fetatar, fetar, pass, ro-fess; consuetudinal pres. ro-finnadar ;
impf. ro-finnad; iinpv. Jinnad; subj. and fut. go exactly like
midithir (ro-festar, ro-fiastar, etc.); part. nee. ^ss-i. Cf.
note 2.
saigid ' makes for,' -saig, pi. -segat ; subj. -sd, pi. -sdsat ; fut.
-sia, pi. -sessat, pret. -siacld.
Uit 'goes, 1 -te(i)t; in the other persons appears the stem £e'(/-
fo'a#- (§ 122); ro- pres. (§ 174, 2) -dichet; impv. 1 sg. fa'a$
(§ 196, note 4), 2. eirg(g), 3. £e'£, 1 pi. tiagam, 2. erg(g)id, 3. tiagat,
pass, tiagar; subj. (cf. § 198, note 1) te'is, -fof, pi. tiasat; ro- subj.
and fut. do-coi (fr. *to-fcom-vedh-s-t), -decha, -dich, -dig, pL
do-coiset, -dicltset; past. subj. -te(i)sed; past, ro- subj. and sec.
fut. do-coised, -dichsed; fut. -rega, -riga (inflected like an
a-subj.), sec. fut. -regad, -rigad; pret. Zmo3, pi. Zotar, pass,
e^/iae ; perf. do-coid, -dechuid, 1. 2. sg. do-cood (-coad), -dechud r
3 pi. do-cotar (du-cuatar), -dechidar, pass, do-coas.
tongid 'swears' (§ 175,2), -toirig; subj. -<d, pi. -tosat; fut.
2. sg. -tithis ; pret. -tethaig ; perf. do-cuitig.
Note 1. — In compound verbs, as e.g. ro-zee ' reaches,' do-icc, do-uccai
(see dobeir), ro-uccai (see berid), do-adbat ' shows,' fo-accaib 'leaves,' etc.,
where the verbal stem beginning with a vowel is preceded by do (fr.
*to), ro- or fo-, the contracted forms are often used in principal and
relative clauses (except when there is a relative -n- ; § 28) instead of
ACCIDENCE 119
the uncontracted forms, e.g. tdn(a)icc sam ' summer lias come,' anl riccu
a less ' that which I need ' (also do-dn(a)icc, ro-iccu).
Note 2. — Some verbs, as e.g. ad-dgathar ' fears,' ro-fitir, ro-cluincthar,
fo-fuair (see fo-gaib), have no contracted (§ 181 footnote) forms, the
preverbal preposition being dropped after the particles and conjunc-
tions mentioned in § 53, 2 b-e.
Note 3. — The uncontracted forms of some verbs have been altered
by the influence of the corresponding contracted forms. Thus, e.g.
*do-tii (fr. *to-tud-s-t), 3. sg. pres. subj. of do-tuit has been altered to
do-toth by the influence of the contracted -toth (fr. *-tb-tud-s-t). Similarly
the final -t(t) of do-tuit (*to-tiid-i-t gives regularly *do-tuid) has been taken
from the contracted -tuit. On the other hand the vowel of -twit is due
to the influence of the uncontracted form. (*-tb-tud-i-t gives regularly
-*toit; § 110, note).
Note 4. — Tho quality of the diphthong in -tait, etc. (fr. *to-U- one
expects *tol-, § 110) is very peculiar.
The Preposition
§ 211. Preverbal and Simple Prepositions.
1. ad- (*ad) ' to, up to.'
(a) Under the stress (§ 53, 2) ad-, liable to various changes
before consonants (§§ 94, 109, 112, 2). Under the influence of
aur- the form and- occasionally appears.
(b) Before the stress (§ 53, 3) ad- ; occasionally as- is sub-
stituted, e.g. as-roilli ' deserves ' besides the regular ad-roilli.
ad- occurs only in compounds.
2. air- (*pre) 'for, on account of (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress (§ 53, 2) air-, before -ro- : air- or ar-,
before -fo- and -uss- : aur-, e.g. aurlam ' ready ' (air-fo-lam).
(b) Before the stress (§ 53, 3) ar-, in relative sense ara-.
In prepositional use (with dat. and ace.) ar.
3. aith- (*ate) < re '-.
(a) Under the stress : aith-, aid-, occasionally ath-, ad-
(§ 55 II. exception).
(b) Before the stress : ad-, before infixed pronouns at- ;
aith- occurs only in compounds.
120 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
4. amal ' like' (older amail, § 81), with ace. (see § 160).
5. cen 'without,' with ace. (see § 160).
6. cenmithd, cenmathd (cenmd) ' besides, except,' with ace.
7. cit- (*fcmta) ' with.'
(a) Under the stress : cit-.
(b) before the stress : ceta-, cita-.
cit- occurs only in compounds.
8. co ' to, up to,' with ace. (see § 160).
In compounds ad- is used.
9. coon- (*fcom) ' with ' ;
(a) Under the stress : com-, liable to various changes before
consonants. (§§ 103, 107, 108).
For com-: cum- is often found (§ 116); in late compounds
the -m is regularly preserved; com-imm- gives coimm- (§ 110).
(b) Before the stress : con-, for which cot- is substituted before
infixed pers. pronouns.
In prepositional use (with dat.) co", cu n .
10. di-, dc- (*de)'from' (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress : di-, di- (§ 125, note), de- ; with following
-fo- : dii-.
(b) Before the stress : do-, du-, occasionally di-, (de-).
In prepositional use (with dat.) di, de, seldom do.
11. echtar (*efcs-tris) ' outside,' with ace.
It occurs also in nominal compounds.
12. er- (*pero) ' for, on account of (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress : er-.
(b) Before the stress : ar-, in relative sense ara-.
In prepositional use (with dat. and ace.) ar. See further
below, 22, note.
13. ess- (*efcs) ' out of (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress : ess- (seldom ass-), liable to various
changes before consonants (§§ 97, 109).
(b) Before the stress : ass-, for which ad- is substituted before
infixed pers. pronouns ; hence ad- is sometimes used instead of
ACCIDENCE 121
as- and vice versa. Even under the stress ad- may appear for
ess-, e.g. -aparr ' is said ' beside regular eperr (0. C. *ek(s)-ber-ro).
The form assa- appears occasionally in relative and non-relative
use.
In prepositional use (with dat.) a, before proclitic words as,
e.g. as mo . . . ' out of my ' . . ., etc.
14. etar-, eter- (*entris) ' between, among' (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress : etar-, before vowels etr-,
(b) Before the stress : itir- (§81, exception 2), iter-, eter-, etar-,
etir-.
In prepositional use (with ace.) iter, itar, etir, eter, etar.
15. fiacl ' in presence of,' with dat. (see § 160).
16. fo- (*upo-) ' under ' (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress: fo-,fu-,fa- (§ 116); before a following
vowel : /-. In late formations contraction is regular.
(b) Before the stress : fo-, fu- ; before vowels occasionally /-.
In prepositional use (with dat. and acc.)/o, fu.
17. for- (*vor, an analogical transformation of ver, fr. I.E. *uper)
'upon' (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress: for-, seldom fur- (§ 116).
(b) Before the stress: for-, occasionally fur-, far-.
In prepositional use (with dat. and ace.) for, occasionally
far.
18. frith- (*vrt) ' against, towards (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress : frith-, liable to various changes before
consonants (§ 93), in later compounds the -th is regularly pre-
served, frith-ess- gives fress-, frith- ess-ind- : freisn- ; fress-
spread analogically to other forms.
(b) Before the stress : friss- ; before infixed pers. pronouns
frit-, only before the rel. 3. sg. m. and n. friss-.
In prepositional use (with ace.) fri.
19. iar- iarin- (*eperorrb) ' after ' ;
(a) Under the stress : iarm-,iar-,
(b) Before the stress : iarmi- {iarmu-, iarma-)
In prepositional use (with dat.) iar n .
I
122 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR
20. imb-, imm- (*mbhi) ' about ' (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress: imb-, im(m)- (§ 103), before s: imv-
(§ 88).
(b) Before the stress : im(m)-, in relative sense imme- imma-.
In prepositional use (with ace.) im{m).
21. in- (*eni), en- (*en), ind- ' in ' (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress : in- remains unchanged ; en- is liable to
various changes before consonants (§§ 104, 107, 108.); it appears
occasionally as in- under the influence of in- (*eni); ind-
appears before most consonants as in- (§ 104), before s as int-
(§ 88).
(b) Before the stress : in- ; before infixed pers. pronouns ad-,
only before the rel. 3. sg. m. and n. ass- ; hence ad- and ass- are
sometimes used instead of in-, e.g. ad-greinn ' pursues,' beside
in-greinn, etc.
In prepositional use (with dat. and ace.) in.
22. ir- (*eru, fr. I.E. *pero) 'for, on account of;
(a) Under the stress : ir-
(b) Before the stress : ar-
In prepositional use (with dat. and ace.) ar.
Note. — Compounds which have er- (12.) are older than the change
of final -6 to -u (§ 118), hence the -6 of *pero has been treated like old 6
in the interior of a word. In those compounds, however, which were
formed at the time when *pero had already become eru (iru § 114), the
preposition appears as ir-. The forms er-, ir- (with u- coloured r), air-
have frequently fallen together and may interchange in the same
word.
23. is (*ped-su, a locative pi. of the I. E. *ped-s ' foot ') ' below,'
with dat. (see § 160).
24. la (arch, le) ' with, by,' with ace. (see § 160).
25. 6, ua ' from, by' (see § 160) and uss-.
(a) Under the stress: before vowels uss-, oss- (§ 117); before
I, n, r: 6, m; before other consonants u, o without any effect
upon these. As this u, o looks like aspirated fu, fo, an / has
ACCIDENCE L23
often been prefixed to it, when not preceded by an aspirating
preverbal preposition (J 18), e.g. ni-tuissim (*-to-u . . . -sem-et)
' he does not create,' but do-fuissim ' he creates ' (instead of
do-uissim). In later compounds appears the form uad-.
(b) Before the stress : ass- or ad-, before infixed pers. pronouns
ad-.
In prepositional use (with dat.) 6, ua.
26. oc ' at ' (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress : oc-, e.g. ni-ocman ' he does not touch '
(the m through influence of com-).
(b) Before the stress : oc(c)u-, e.g. ocu-ben ' touches.'
In prepositional use (with dat.) oc(c) (uc, ac).
27. 6s, uas ' above,' with dat. (see § 160).
28. rem- ' before ' (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress : rem-.
(b) Before the stress : remi-, in relative use also reme-.
In prepositional use (with dat.) re n , ri'\ ria n .
29. ro- (see § 174, 2).
(a) Under the stress: ro-, ru-, ra- (§ 116), before vowels r- ;
only with the prep, uss- (fr. *u . . -) (25) it is contracted to
ro- ; between consonants we have -ar-, -or- (fr. r : §§ 59, 66-71).
(b) Before the stress: ro-, ru-, before vowels occasionally r-
through influence of the stressed form.
ro- occurs only in compounds.
30. sech, ' past, beyond ' (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress : sechm-,
(b) Before the stress : sechmo- {sechmi-).
In prepositional use (with ace.) sech.
31. sechtar (*s(o)-ekstris), ' forth from,' with ace.
32. tairm-, tar, dar, ' over ' (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress : tairm-, tarm-,
(b) Before the stress : seldom tarmi-, regularly tremi-, trimi-
(34).
In prepositional use (with ace.) tar, dar (§ 80).
124 A CONCISE OLD IRISH GRAMMAR,
33. to-, do- (*to) ' to ' (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress : to-, tu-, ta- (§ 116), before vowels t-, only
with the prep, uss, *u . . . (25) it is contracted to to-, tua- ;
similarly to-fo-, to-for- give to-, tua-, tor-, tuar-. In late com-
pounds the form do- appears.
(b) Before the stress : do-, du- (§ 80), before vowels occasionally
t- through influence of the stressed form.
In prepositional use (with dat.) do, du.
34. trem-, tri, tre ' through ' (see § 160).
(a) Under the stress : trem- (tre-).
(b) Before the stress : -tremi-, trimi-, in relative use also treme-.
tris-gataim ' I transfix ' is due to the influence of friss- (18).
In prepositional use (with ace.) tri, tre.
§ 212. Compound Prepositions.
Some examples are : ar bilaib ' in presence of ' ; ar chiunn
and ar chenn ' in front of ' ; ar chuit ' with regard to ' ;
fo bith, fo bithin ' because of ' ; i n-arrad ' with ' ; i n-dead, i
n-diad, and i n-degaid n , i n-digaid n ' after,' tar 4isi n ' instead of.'
Note. — All compound prepositions govern the genitive ; the
genitives of personal pronouns ( = possessive pronouns) are inserted
after the first preposition, e.g. di rdith D6 'for (instead of) God,' i n-a
dead 'after him,' ar do chuit 'with regard to you.'
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