Appendix:Old Irish glossary

A glossary of terms used in the body of this dictionary for Old Irish entries specifically. See Appendix:Glossary for a more general glossary. This page can be linked to using {{sga-glossary}}.

Contents:	A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Symbols

· (middle dot)

Used in modern notation in compound and conjunct verb forms to indicate that the following syllable is stressed.

do·sluindi ― (s)he denies

ní·díltai ― (s)he doesn't deny

ní·derlindi ― (s)he can't deny

See prototonic and deuterotonic.

◌̇ (punctum delens)

Used over ⟨f⟩ and ⟨s⟩ to indicate that they have been lenited to ∅ and /h/ respectively. Also sometimes used over ⟨m⟩ and ⟨n⟩ when these are used in the context of nasalization (eclipsis).

a ḟir ― O man

a ṡúil ― his eye

a ṁbrithemnas ― their judgment

i ṅdegaid ― after

A

affixed pronoun

Old Irish had no independent object pronouns. Instead the object was indicated on the verb, either with an infixed pronoun or suffixed pronoun. See also Appendix:Old Irish affixed pronouns.

absolute (inflection)

Refers to the longer of the two sets of verbs endings, the other one being conjunct. Absolute endings are used with simple verbs not preceded by a conjunct particle.

Beirid in banaltra in lenab.

The nurse carries the child.

Compare the contrast between deuterotonic and prototonic for compound verbs.

augment

Preverb with a specific grammatical function: to add resultative or potential meaning to the verb form. The most common preverb used as the augment is ro-, but com- and ad- also occur with some frequency in this function.

The augment occurs especially frequently with the preterite. The augmented preterite is also called the perfect.

C

conjunct (inflection)

Refers to the shorter of the two sets of verb endings, the other one being absolute. Conjunct endings are used with simple verbs preceded by a conjunct particle. They are also the only endings used with all compound verbs.

Ní·beir in banaltra in lenab.

The nurse doesn't carry the child.

Compare the contrast between deuterotonic and prototonic for compound verbs.

conjunct particle

A verbal particle that requires a conjunct verb form of a simple verb and the prototonic verb form of a compound verb.

The conjunct particles comprise the following: negative particles like ní; interrogative particles like in; the conjunctions ara (“in order that”), dia (“if”), co(n) (“so that”); the prepositions combined with the relative particle (s)a; and the unstressed interrogative pronoun cía.

D

dependent

Refers to verb forms which are preceded by a conjunct particle, that is to say conjunct simple verbs or prototonic compound verbs.

deuterotonic

Refers to compound verbs forms which are stressed on the second syllable, in contrast to prototonic verb forms. Deuterotonic verb forms are required when they are not preceded by a conjunct particle.

Do·beir in cú in líathróit.

The dog brings the ball.

Compare the contrast between absolute and conjunct for simple verbs.

H

h-prothesis

An initial mutation whereby the sound /h/ is attached to the beginning of a vowel-initial word. Not reliably indicated in Old Irish orthography, but its presence in the modern Goidelic languages confirms that it existed at the earliest stages. In this dictionary the triggering of h-prothesis by a word or morpheme is indicated by a superscript capital: ^H. Called by a variety of names by different scholars, including aspiration, gemination (an inaccurate term arising from a misunderstanding of the history of the mutation), prefixed h, sandhi-h etc.

I

independent

Refers to verb forms which are not preceded by a conjunct particle, that is to say absolute simple verbs or deuterotonic compound verbs.

infixed pronoun

Old Irish had no independent object pronouns. Instead the object was indicated on the verb with so-called infixed pronouns. They weren't infixed in the strict sense, but prefixed to the stressed portion of the verb, following a conjunct particle or preverb.

A-tom·chaí

You see me.

Ní-m·ac-cai

You don't see me.

See also suffixed pronoun and Appendix:Old Irish affixed pronouns.

L

lenition

A consonant mutation whereby consonants are phonetically weakened: plosives are replaced by fricatives, fricatives by weaker fricatives, and sonorants by shorter sonorants. In this dictionary the triggering of lenition by a word or morpheme is indicated by a superscript capital: ^L.

M

mutation

A grammatical phenomenon whereby the first sound of a word changes depending on the grammatical context. In Old Irish there are three mutations: lenition, nasalization, and h-prothesis. In this dictionary the triggering of one of these mutations by a word or morpheme is indicated by a superscript capital: ^L, ^N, and ^H respectively.

N

nasalization

A consonant mutation whereby a nasal sound is added before voiced plosives and vowels and voiceless plosives (and /f/) are replaced by their voiced counterparts. In this dictionary the triggering of nasalization by a word or morpheme is indicated by a superscript capital: ^N. The equivalent mutation in modern Irish is known as eclipsis, a term sometimes encountered in discussions of Old Irish as well.

O

Ogham

Refers to the oldest form of the Irish language of which we have direct evidence, also called Primitive Irish (4th-7th century); and also the alphabet with which it was written and the stones on which it is recorded.

P

preverb

Verbal prefixes that combine with verbs to form compound verbs.

prototonic

Refers to compound verbs forms which are stressed on the first syllable, in contrast to deuterotonic verb forms. Prototonic verb forms are required when they are preceded by a conjunct particle.

Ní·tabair in cú in líathróit.

The dog doesn't bring the ball.

Compare the contrast between absolute and conjunct for simple verbs.

R

relative verbal endings

These represent one of the ways Old Irish had to express a relative clause. They were only available in the absolute inflection, i.e. with simple verbs not preceded by a conjunct particle, and then only in the 3rd person singular and plural and the 1st person plural:

In ben beires in claideb

The woman who carries the sword.

Ind ḟir bertae in fid

The men who carry the wood.

ind libuir bermai

the books we carry

See also Appendix:Old Irish verbs for the inflectional paradigms.

S

suffixed pronoun

Old Irish had no independent object pronouns. Instead the object was indicated on the verb, usually with an infixed pronoun. Suffixed pronouns on the other hand are rare. They are placed after absolute verb forms. They can't occur with compounds and conjunct particles.

Beirth-i Cú Chulainn

Cú Chulainn caries it.

See also Appendix:Old Irish affixed pronouns.