flaith

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish flaith, from Proto-Celtic *wlatis (“sovereignty”).

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /fˠl̪ˠɑh/
• (Connacht, Ulster) IPA^(key): /fˠlˠa(h)/, /fˠl̪ˠa(h)/

Noun

flaith f (genitive singular flaithe)

1. (literary) lordship, sovereignty

Declension

Declension of flaith (second declension, no plural)

bare forms case singular nominative flaith vocative a fhlaith genitive flaithe dative flaith forms with the definite article case singular nominative an fhlaith genitive na flaithe dative leis an bhflaith don fhlaith

Noun

flaith m (genitive singular flatha, nominative plural flatha)

1. ruler, prince; lord, chief

Declension

Declension of flaith (third declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative flaith flatha vocative a fhlaith a fhlatha genitive flatha flatha dative flaith flatha forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an flaith na flatha genitive an fhlatha na bhflatha dative leis an bhflaith don fhlaith leis na flatha

Alternative forms

• flaitheamh

Derived terms

• banfhlaith (“princess”)
• flaitheas
• flaithiúil (adjective)
• Órfhlaith

 

Mutation

Mutated forms of flaith

radical	lenition	eclipsis
flaith	fhlaith	bhflaith

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “flaith”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “flaith”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “flaith”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *wlatis (“sovereignty”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɸlaθʲ]

Noun

flaith f

1. lordship, sovereignty, rule
2. kingdom, realm (especially the Kingdom of Heaven)
3. prince, ruler

Inflection

Feminine i-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	flaith	flaithL	flathaiH
Vocative	flaith	flaithL	flathaiH
Accusative	flaithN	flaithL	flathaiH
Genitive	flathoH, flathaH	flathoH, flathaH	flathaeN
Dative	flaithL	flathaib	flathaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

• flaithem
• flaithemnacht
• flaithemnas
• flaithius

 

Descendants

• Irish: flaith
• Manx: flah
• Scottish Gaelic: flath

Mutation

Mutation of flaith

radical	lenition	nasalization
flaith	ḟlaith	flaith pronounced with /β(ʲ)-/

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 flaith”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language