MacBain's Dictionary - Section 27

Previous Section Index Next Section


mol , mal
a shingly beach; from Norse möl, g. malar, pebbles, bed of pebbles on the beach; root mel, grind.
molach
hairy, rough, Irish mothlach, rough, bushy (O'R.), muthalach, shaggy (Fol.). If the Irish form is right, it cannot be allied to Indo-European ml@.o-s, wool, Greek @Gmallós, wool, tuft, Lithuanian millas, woolen stuff.
moll
chaff, Irish moll (O'R.), Welsh mwl: *muldo-; English mould, Gothic mulda, dust, Old High German molt, dust, mould; root mel, grind. Borrowed from Welsh?
mollachd
a curse; the Northern form of mallachd, q.v.
mòlltair
a mould; from English moulter, mould.
molltair
miller's share of the grain or meal (Lewis) = multure:
monahdh
a mountain range, Welsh mynydd, mons, Cornish menit, meneth, Old Breton -monid, Middle Breton menez, mountain: *monijo-, *menijo-, root men, eminere, English eminent. Cf. Welsh inscription Monedorigi, "mountain-king"; also middle Gaelic name of St Andrews - Rig-monath (Chronicles). The Irish monadh appears only in Lh.; O'Br. gives mónadh. The Gaelic word may have been borrowed from the Picts along with the place-names in which it appears: it is rare in Argyle topography.
monaid
heed:
monais
slowness, negligence; root men, stay, Greek @Gménw.
monar
a diminutive person or thing, monaran, a mote; See munar.
monasg
chaff, dross; from the root of monar.
monmhur , monaghar
a murmuring noise, Irish monmhar, monbhar, murmuring, monghair, monghar, roaring: *mon-mur; cf. Latin murmur.
mór
great, Irish mór, Old Irish mór, már, Welsh mawr, Old Welsh, Cornish maur, Breton meur, Gaulish -mârós; Greek @G-mwros, great, famed ( @Ge@'ghesí-mwros) in spear-throw; Gothic -mêrs, famed, mêrian, proclaim, Old High German mâri, famed, -mar in Germanic names German märchen, a tale, Norse m@oerr, famous; Slavonic -meru (Vladimir, etc.); Latin merus, English mere. A shorter form of the stem (*mâro-) appears in , greater (), q.v.
morbhach
land liable to sea flooding, Irish murbhach, Middle Irish murmhagh; from muir and magh. Hence the locative A' Mhor'oich, the Gaelic name of Lovat. Aran Irish muirbheach, sandy soil by the seaside.
morghath
a fishing spear; "sea-spear", from muir and gath? Middle Irish murgai (Dean of Lismore).
mòrnan
a small timber dish, Irish mórnán:
mort
murder, Irish mort, Middle Irish martad, slaughtering; from Latin mort- of mors, mortis, death.
mortar
mortar, Irish mortaoil; from the English
mosach
nasty, dirty; See musach.
mosgail
waken, arouse, Irish músguilim, músglaim, Middle Irish romuscail, he awoke, musclait, they wake: *imm-od-sc-al, root sec of dùisg.
mosradh
coarse dalliance, mosraiche, smuttiness; from mos with suffix radh. See musach for root.
mothaich
perceive, Irish mothuighim, Middle Irish mothaigim, perceive, Old Irish mothaigid, stupeat (?); root mot, met, Lithuanian matyti, see, Lettic matít, perceive, Ch.Slavonic motriti, spectare, Greek @Gmateúw, seek.
mothan
bog violet:
mòthar
loud noise, swelling of the sea, mothar, noise as from a cave (M`A.):
mothar
a park, clump of trees (Arms.), Middle Irish mothar, enclosure, a place studded with bushes:
mu
about, Irish um, im, Old Irish imb, imm-, Welsh am, Cornish, Breton am-, em, Gaulish ambi: *ambi, *m@.bi; Latin ambi-; Greek @Ga@'mfí; Anglo-Saxon ymb.
muc
a pig, Irish muc, Old Irish mucc, Welsh moch, pigs, Breton moc'h, pigs: *mukku-; Latin mûcus, muccus, mucus; Greek @Gmúxa, phlegm, @Ga@'pomússw, wipe the nose, @Gmuktc/r, nose; Sanskrit muñcáti, let loose.
mucag
a hip or hep, fruit of the dog-rose, Middle Irish mucóra; from muc above. Cf. Greek @Gmúkcs, a mushroom, from the same root.
mùch
smother, press down, Irish, Old Irish múchaim, also Early Irish múch, smoke, Welsh mwg, smoke, Cornish mok, megi, stifle, Breton mik, suffocation, miga, be suffocated, moguiet, smoke: *mûko-, root smûk, sm^g, (smûgh, smaugh), English smoke, Greek @Gsmúhw, smoulder (v long). Stokes suggests old borrowing from the Anglo-Saxon Hence mùchan, a vent or chimney, Irish múchán (O'Br.).
mùdan
a covering, covering for a gun:
mugha
destruction, decay, Irish múgha, a perishing, straying, Middle Irish mugud, slaying, mogaim, I slay:
mugharn
ankle, so Irish; cf. Welsh migwrn, ankle, joint, Breton migorn, cartilage, which Stokes compares to Latin mucro, point.
muidhe
a churn, Early Irish muide, a vessel, buide, a churn, Welsh buddai, churn. Stokes compares buide and buddai to Greek @Gpíqos, jar, Latin fedelia, pot, which is related to English body. The form muidhe has been compared to Latin modius, a peck, French muid, hogshead.
muidse
a mutch; from the Scottish mutch, German mütze.
mùig , mùg
cloudiness, gloom, surliness, Irish múig: *munki-, root muk, smoke, as in mùch? Or *mu@-ggi-, allied to English muggy?
muigh , a muigh
outside; See mach.
muilceann
fell-wort, Irish muilcheann:
muileach
dear, beloved: *molico-, from mol, praise?
muileag
a cranberry:
muileann
a mill, so Irish, Old Irish mulenn, muilend, Welsh, Cornish, Breton melin; from Latin molîna, a mill, molo, grind (see meil). Gaelic muillear, miller, Early Irish muilleóir, is for *muilneóir.
muileid
a mukle, Irish múille; from Latin mulus.
muillean
a husk, particle of chaff; from moll.
muillean
a truss (of hay or straw): cf. Scottish mullio (Orkney), and See under mul, heap.
muillion
a million, Irish milliun; from the Late Latin millionem, coined from mille, a thousand.
muilteag
a certain small red berry (Dial. H.S.D.). See muileag.
muime
a step-mother, nurse, Irish buime, muime, a nurse, Early Irish mumme, nurse, stepmother: *mud-s-mjâ, nurse, "suckler", root mud, suck; Latin mulier, woman; Greek @Gmúxw, suck, @Gmúdos, damp; Lithuanian máudyti, bath. It has also been paralleled to Latin mamma, German muhme, mother's sister, stepmother.
muin
teach, instruct, Irish múinim, Old Irish múnim:
muin
the back, Irish muin, Early Irish muin, back, neck, Welsh mwn, neck: *moni-, neck; Sanskrit mányâ, neck; Latin monile, necklace; Old High German menni, neck ornaments, Anglo-Saxon mene, neck-chain; Ch.Slavonic monisto, necklace. See muineal, muing. Gaulish had also @Gmaniákcs, collar or torque.
mùin
micturate, Irish mún, urine, Early Irish mún, root meu , befoul; Sanskrit mu@-/tra urine; possibly also Latin mûto, mutto, penis, Early Irish moth, ball ferda.
muineal
the neck, Irish muineul, Early Irish muinél, Welsh mwnwgl: *moniklo-; from *moni- of muin, back, q.v.
muineasach
depressed (Glenmoriston):
muing
a name, Irish muing, Old Irish mong, Welsh myng (m.), Middle Breton móe, Breton moue: *mongâ, *mongo-, root mon of muin, back, q.v. Further is English mane, Norse mön, German mähne; Swed. and Danish manke is especially close to Gaelic.
muinichill , muilichinn
(Arg.), a sleeve, Irish muinichille, muinchille, Early Irish munchille; from Latin manicula, manica, long sleeve, from manus, hand.
muinighin
confidence, trust, so Irish, Early Irish muinigin; from *moni-, love, desire, Norse munr, love, Old Sax. munilîk, lovable; root men, think (Latin mens, English mind, etc.).
muinne
stomach (Arg.). Cf. mionach.
muinnte , munnda
beauteous; cf. Latin mundus.
mùinnteachd
disposition (Dial.); for root See muinighin, and cf. Old Irish muiniur, I think.
muinntir
household, people, Irish muinntir, Old Irish muinter, muntar. This is regarded by Stokes, Zimmer, and Güterbock as an early borrowing from the Latin monasterium, monastery; the word familia is often applied to monasteries by Irish writers.
muir
the sea, Irish muir, Old Irish muir, gen. mora, Welsh môr, Cornish, Breton mor, Gaulish mor-: *mori-, sea; Latin mare; English mere, German meer; Ch.Slavonic morje.
mùire
leprosy; from mùr, a countless number, q.v.
muirgheadh
a fisihing spear; See morghath.
muirichinn
children, family, Irish muiridhin, a charge, family: *mori-, care, charge, root mer, smer, remember; Latin memoria, memory; Greek @Gmérimna, care; Sanskrit smarati, think, mind, *mori-gen-.
mùirn
joy, affection, Irish múirn, múirnín (English mavourneen, my darling), Middle Irish múirn, muirn: *morni-, root mor, mer, smer, as in muirichinn above.
mùiseag
a threat, muiseag (Arms.); from mus of musach.
muisean
a mean, sordid fellow; See musach for the root.
mùisean
a primrose, Irish múiseán (O'Br.):
muiseal
a muzzle, Irish muisiall; from the English
muisginn
an English pint, mutchkin; from the Scottish mutchkin, Dutch mutsje, an eighth part of a bottle.
mul
a conical heap, mound, Irish mul, moil, Early Irish mul-, eminence: *mulu-; cf. Norse múli, jutting crag, "mull", German maul, snout. Cf. Greek mulon, little heap of dried grass. mul-conain, conical suppurating sore.
mul
axle, Irish mul, mol, shaft; cf. Greek @Gmelíc, ash, spear.
mulachag
a cheese, Irish, Middle Irish mulchán:
mulad
sadnmess; root mu, mutter?
mulart
dwarf elder, Irish mulabhúrd, malabhúr, mulart (O'Br.):
mulc
push, butt; cf. Latin mulceo, mulco, stroke, beat.
mulc
a shapeless lump, lump; mulcan, a pustule; cf. meall:
mullach
the top, Irish, Old Irish mullach: *muldâko-, *muldo-, top, head; Anglo-Saxon molda, crown of the head; Sanskrit mûrdhán, top, head.
mult
a wedder, Irish, Old Irish molt, Welsh mollt, Cornish mols, vervex, Breton maout, a sheep (mas.): *molto-, root mel, mol, crush, grind, "mutilate"; Russ. moliti@u, cut, cut up, Old High German muljan, triturate. Hence Middle Latin multo, whence French mouton, a sheep, English mutton.
munar
a trifle, a trifling person, monar, diminutive person or thing:
minganachd
bullying:
mùnloch
a puddle, Irish múnloch, gen. múnlocha; from mún and loch.
mur
unless, Irish muna (Donegal Irish mur; Monaghan has amur = acht muna, unless), Middle Irish mun, moni, mona, Early Irish, Old Irish mani; from ma, if, and ni, not: "if not". The Gaelic r for n is possibly due to the influence of gur and of the verbal particl ro- (in robh); mun-robh becoming mur-robh.
mùr
a wall, bulwark, palace, Irish, Early Irish múr, Welsh mur; from Latin mûrus, a wall.
mùr
countless number (as of insects), Early Irish múr, abundance; Greek @Gmuríos (u long), countless, ten thousand; Sanskrit bhûri, many. Stokes compares rather Greek @G-mura of @Gplc/mura (u long), @Gplcmurís (u short or long), flood tide, flood. mùr, leprosy = countless number.
muran
sea-bent, Irish muraineach, bent grass; from muir, the sea. Norse has mura, goose-grass.
murcach
sorrowful, Irish murcach, múrcach; cf. Middle Breton morchet, anxiety, now morc'hed, Cornish moreth, chagrin. English murky, Norse myrkr could only be allied by borrowing. Cf. Latin marceo, droop.
mùrla
a coat of mail:
murlach
the king-fisher:
murlag, murluinn
a kind of basket, murlach, fishing basket (M`A.), Irish muirleog, a rod basket for sand eels and wilks (Donegal). Cf. Scottish murlain, a narrow-mouthed basket of a round form.
murlan
rough head of hair:
murrach
able, rich, murrtha, successful, Middle Irish muire, muiredach, lord, Murdoch; Anglo-Saxon maere, clarus, Norse maerr, famous (Stokes), same root as mór.
murt
murder; See mort.
murtachd
sultry heat, weariness produced by heat:
mus
before, ere; cf. Old Irish mos, soon, mox, used as a verbal particle; it is allied to moch, being from *moqsu, Latin mox.
musach
nasty, Irish mosach ( O'R., Sh.), Welsh mws, effluvia, stinking, Breton mous, muck, mouz, crepitus ventris: *musso-, *mud-so-, root mud, be foul or wet; Greek @Gmúsos (= @Gmúd-sos), defilement, @Gmúdos, clamminess, decay; Lithuanian mudas, dirty sea-grass: root mu (mu@-), soil, befoul, Gaelic mùin, English mud, etc.
musg
a musket, Irish músgaid, L.Middle Irish muscaed (Four Masters); from the English
mùsg
rheum about the eyes, gore of the eyes; from the root , befoul, be wet, as discussed under musach, mùin.
musgan
dry-rot in wood, Irish musgan, mustiness, mouldiness; Latin muscus, moss; English moss, mushroom; Lithuanian musai (pl.), mould. This word is not in H.S.D., but it is implied in Arms. and is in M`E.; also in common use.
mùsgan
pith of wood, porous part of a bone (H.S.D.). Armstron gives also the meanings attached to musgan, above; the words are evidently the same.
mùsgan
the horse fish:
mùsuinn
confusion, tumult, Irish múisiún, codlata, hazy state preceding sleep. From English motion?
mutach
short, Early Irish mut, everything short: *mutto-, root mut, dock; Latin mutilus, maimed (English mutilate), muticus, docked; Greek @Gmítulos, hornless.
mùtan, mutan
a muff, fingerless glove, also mutag (Arms.); from miotag, with a leaning on mutach, short. Thurneysen takes it from mutach without reference to miotag. Irish has muthóg (Con.).
mùth
change, Middle Welsh mudaw; from Latin mûto, I change.

N

n-
from, in a nuas, a nìos, Irish, Old Irish an-; See a.
na
not, ne, Irish, Old Irish na: used with the imperative mood solely. It is an ablaut and independent form of the neg. prefix in (see ion-, an-), an ablaut of Indo-European , Latin , Greek @Gnc-; shorter from Latin ne@u-, Gothic ni, English not (ne-á-wiht), etc.; further Indo-European n@.-, Greek @Ga@'n-, Latin in-, English un-, Gaelic an-. See nach, which is connected herewith as Greek @Gou@'k, @Gou@'; the Welsh is nac, nag, with imperative, Breton na.
na
or, vel, Irish , Early Irish, Old Irish , Welsh neu: *nev (Stokes, who allies it to Latin nuo, nod, Greek @Gneúw, Sanskrit návate, go remove; but, in 1890, Bez. Beit.@+16 51, he refers it to the root nu, English now). It can hardly be separated from neo, otherwise, q.v. Strachan agrees.
na
than, Irish , Middle Irish iná, Early Irish inda, indás, Old Irish ind as, indás, pl. indate (read indáte); from the prep. in and , to be (Zeuss@+2, 716-7, who refers to the other prepositional comparative conjunction oldaas, from ol, de). The use of in in Old Irish as the relative locative may also be compared.
na
what, that which, id quod, Middle Irish ina, ana, inna n-, Early Irish ana n-; for an a, Old Irish rel. an (really neuter of art.) and Gaelic rel a, which see. Descent from ni or ni, without any relative, is favoured by Book of Deer, as do ni thíssad, of what would come. Possibly from both sources.
'na , 'na-
in his, in her, in (my); the prep. an with the possessive pronouns: 'nam, 'nar, 'nad (also ad, Early Irish at, it), 'nur, 'na, 'nan.
nàbaidh , nàbuidh
a neighbour; from the Norse nà-búi, neighbour, "nigh-dweller", the same in roots as English neighbour.
nach
not, that not (conj.), that not = quin (rel), noone? Irish, Early Irish nach, Welsh nac, nag, not, Breton na: *nako, from na, not, which See above, and ko or k as in Greek @Gou@'k against @Gou@' (Stokes). The ko has been usually referred to the same pronominal origin as -que in Latin neque; it does appear in neach.
nàdur
nature, Irish nádúr, Welsh natur; from Latin natura.
naid
a lamprey ( Sh., O'Br.), Irish naid:
naidheachd
news, Irish núaidheachd, Welsh newyddion; from nuadh, new.
nàile
yea! an interjection:
nàird , a nàird
upwards, Irish anáirde, Early Irish i n-ardi, i n-airddi; prep. in (now an) into, and àirde, height: "into height". This adverb is similar in construction to a bhàn, a mach, a steach, etc., for which See a.
nàire
shame, Irish náire, Early Irish náre: *nagro-, shameful, root nagh, be sober, Greek @Gnc/fw (do.), German nüchtern, fasting, sober.
nàisneach
modest; compare nàistinn.
nàistinn
care, wariness; from Norse njósn, spying, looking out, Gothic niuhseini, visitation ( @Ge@'piskopc/), Anglo-Saxon neósan, search out.
naitheas
harm, mischief:
nall
from over, to this side, Irish, Old Irish annall; from an (see a) and all of thall, q.v.
nàmhaid
an enemy, Irish námhaid, g. namhad, Old Irish náma, g. námat, pl.n. námait: *nâmant-, root nôm, nem, seize, take; Greek @Gnémesis, wrath, nemesis, @Gnwmáw, @Gnémw, distribute; Old High German nâma, rapine, German nehmen, take, English nimble; Zend. nemanh, crime, Alb. name, a curse. Cf. Welsh, Cornish, and Breton nam, blame.
na'n
(na'm), if (with false supposition), Middle Gaelic dane, da n-, da m- (Dean of Lismore), Irish da, (for da n-, eclipsing), Early Irish dá n-, día n-, Old Irish dian: the prep. di or de and rel. an; Manx dy. The Gaelic form with n for d is puzzling, though its descent from da n- seems undoubted.
naoi
nine, so Irish, Old Irish nói n-, Welsh, Cornish naw, Breton nao: *neun@.; Latin novem; Greek @Ge@'n-néa; English nine, German neun; Sanskrit návan.
naoidhean
an infant, so Irish, Old Irish nóidiu, gen. nóiden: *ne-vid-, "non-witted"? Cf. for force Greek @Gnc/pios, infant (= @Gnc-pios, not-wise one), from @G-pifos, wise, @Gpinutós (do.), root qei of ciall, q.v. So Stokes in Celt.Ph.@+2; now *no-vidiôn ( no = ne); cf. Greek @Gnc/pios.
naomh
holy, Irish naomh, Early Irish nóem, nóeb, Old Irish nóib: *noibo-s; Old Persian naiba, beautiful, Persian nîw (do.). Bez. suggests the alternative of Lettic naigs, quite beautiful.
naosga
a snipe, Irish naosga: *snoib-sko-, root sneib, snib of English snipe?
nar
negative particle of wishing: *ni-air, for not; air and .
nàsag
an empty shell:
nasg
a band, tieband, collar, Irish, Early Irish nasc: *nasko-; Old High German nusca, fibula, Norse nist, brooch: *n@.dh-sko-, root n@.dh (Brug.). The verg nasg, Old Irish -nascim, appears in Breton as naska. The root nedh is in Sanskrit nahyati. Others make the root negh of Latin nexus, etc., and the root snet of snàth, q.v., has been suggested. See snaim further.
nasgaidh
gratis, free, Irish a n-aisge, freely, aisge, a gift. See asgaidh.
natar
nitre; from English natron, nitre,
nathair
a serpent, so Irish, Old Irish nathir, Welsh neidr, Cornish nader, Middle Breton azr: *natrîx; Latin natrix, water snake; Gothic nadrs, Norse naðr, English adder. The Teutonic words are regarded by Kluge as scarcely connected with Latin natrix, whose root is nat, swim.
-ne
emphatic participle added to the pl. of 1st pers. pron. sin-ne, ar n-athair-ne, "our father"; Old Irish ni, -ni, used independently (= nos) and as a suffix. See further under sinne.
neach
anyone, Irish neach, Old Irish nech, aliquis, Welsh, Cornish, Breton nep, neb, quisquam: *neqo-, ne-qo-; Lithuanian nekàs, something, nekúrs, quidam, Let.. ká ne ká, anyhow. Stokes takes the ne from the negative root ne (se na); the qo is the pronominal stem of the interrogative (cf. Latin -que, neque).
nead
a nest, Irish nead, Early Irish net, Welsh nyth, Cornish neid, Breton nez, neiz: *nizdo-s; Latin nîdus; English nest; Sanskrit nîdas. Supposed to be from *ni-sed-, "sit down".
nèamh
heaven, Irish neamh, Old Irish nem, Welsh, Cornish nef, Middle Breton neff, now env: *nemos; Sanskrit námas, bowing, reverence; Latin nemus, grove; Greek @Gnémos, pasture: root nem, distribute, Greek @Gnémw (do.), German nehmen, take. Gaulish has @Gnemcton or @Gnemeton, Old Irish nemed, sacellum. Often, and lately (1895) by Prof. Rhys, referred to the root nebh, be cloudy, Greek @Gnéfos, cloud, Latin nebula (see neul); but the Gaelic nasalized èa is distinctly against this, as also is the Breton env (Stokes).
neamhnuid
a pearl, Irish meamhunn, Middle Irish niamnuid, pearl, Early Irish nemanda, pearly, Old Irish ném, onyx (for nem?); root nem of nèamh.
neanntag
nettle, Irish neantóg, Early Irish nenntai, nettles, nenaid. See deanntag.
neapaicin
a napkin, Irish naipicín; from English
nèarahd
happiness, usually mo nèarachd, lucky to, Irish moigheanéar, happy is he (O'Br.), is meanar duit-se, happy it is for you (O'Growney), Middle Irish mo ghenar duit, good luck to you (Four Masters), mongenar (L.B.), Early Irish mogenar. The root seems to be mag (Indo-European magh), increase (see mac); cf. Latin macte, root, mak, great.
nearag
a daughter (Oss. Ballads); if a word properly handed down, it is interesting to compare it with the root of neart.
neart
strength, Irish neart, Old Irish nert, Welsh, Cornish nerth, Breton nerz, Gaulish nerto-, root ner; Sanskrit nár, man; Greek @Ga@'nc/r (root ner); Latin Umbr. nerus, viros, Sab. Nero, fortis; Teutonic Nerthus, Norse Njörðr; Lithuanian nore@?ti, to will.
neas
weazel; See nios.
neasg , neasgaid
a boil, Irish neascóid, Early Irish nescoit: *ness-conti-, from Early Irish ness, wound (*snit-so-, root snit, cut. German schneide, S. sned), and -conti- found in urchoid? Stokes regards Early Irish ness, wound, as from *nesko-, root neg.
neimh
poison, Irish nimh, neimh, Old Irish nem, pl. neimi: *nemes-, "something given", root nem-, distribute (as in nèamh)?
nèip
a turnip; from the Scottish neep, Middle English ne@-pe, from Latin nâpus.
neo , air neo
otherwise, alioquin (conj.); See neo-.
neo-
un-, Irish neamh-, neimh-, Middle Irish nem, Old Irish neb-, neph-: *ne-bo-; the ne is the negative seen in na, ni, but the bo is doubtful. Zimmer suggests that b is what remains of the subj. of bu, be: "be not".
neòinean, neònan
the daisy, Irish nóinin: "noon-flower", from nòin, noon. Cf. the English daisy for force.
neònach
eccentric, curious: *neo-gnàthach, "unwont".
neonagan
a stye in the eye (Arg.); cf. leamhnad. Also steònagan; cf. Scottish styen.
neoni
nothing, a trifle, Old Irish nephní; from neo- and ni, thing.
neul , nial
a cloud, Irish neul, Old Irish nél, pl.acc. níula, Welsh niwl, mist: *neblo-s; Latin nebula; Greek @Gnefélc; German nebel, mist; Old Slavonic nebo, sky; Sanskrit nabhas, mist.
ni
not, Irish , Old Irish , ni, Welsh ni: *nei; Old Latin nei, Latin ni-, ; Old H.German ni, German nein; Old Slavonic ni, neque; Zend naê; Greek @Gnc-. Thurneysen says *ne-est = *nést, Celtic níst, nìs, ni h- non-aspirating.
ni
a thing, Irish nidh, Old Irish , res, probably a curtailed form of Old Irish aní, id quod, from the art.neut. and the pronominal suffix ei, which Zimmer compares to Gothic ei, that (conj.), sa-ei, that-ei, which is either the locative of pronominal o- (Greek @Gei@', Indo-European ei-so, this here), or the particle seen in Greek @Gou@`tos-í ( i long), an instrumental of Latin is, Gaelic e, he. Some have regarded ni as from *gnithe, factum, which See in , will do.
cattle; this is the same as ni, thing.
will do, Irish gním, I do, Old Irish dogní, facit; See dèan, gnìomh.
niata
courageous, Irish nia, gen. niadh, a champion, niadhas, valour, Middle Irish forniatta, brave, Early Irish nia, g. níath, possibly Ogam neta, netta (*nêta?): *neid-, Greek @Go@'neidos, revile, Lithuanian náids, hatred, Sanskrit nind, mock, or *ni-sed-, down-setter? Rhys (Lect.) cfs. the Teutonic nanþ, venture, strive; this would give Gaelic preserved d.
nic
female patronymic prefix, Middle Gaelic nee (Dean of Lismore), Irish , Middle Irish iní, an abbreviation of Old Irish ingen, now inghean or nighean and ui, nepotis (Stokes). The Gaelic nic, really "grand-daughter", stands for inghean mhic or ní mhic; we have recorded in 1566 Ne V@+c Kenze (M`Leod Charters).
nigh
wash, Irish nighim, Early Irish nigim, Old Irish dofonuch, lavo, nesta, laveris: *ligô, Indo-European nei@gô; Greek @Gnízw, @Gníptw; English nick, Auld Nick, a water power, German nix; Sanskrit nij, clean.
nighean
a daughter; a corruption of inghean, q.v.
nimh
poison, Irish nimh; See neimh.
nior
not (with perfect tense), Irish níor, Early Irish nír = ní-ro; ro is the sign of past tenses.
nios , neas
a weazel, Irish neas, eas(óg), Old Irish ness:
nìos
from below, up, Irish aníos, Early Irish anís; from an (see a) and ++ìos.
nis
now, Irish anois, Middle Irish anosa, Early Irish innossai, Old Irish indossa; ind (now an) of the article and Gaelic fois, rest. The word appears in a bhos, q.v. The form indorsa, this hour (= now), is rejected by Ascoli as a misspelling for indossa.
ni 's
id quod, the usual classical Gaelic with the verb substantive to denote comparative state: tha i ni's fheàrr, she is better, Ir nios, Middle Irish ní is: "thing that is", from ni and is. The usual and true Gaelic form na 's is not a degraded form of Irish ni 's. The Gaelic na of na 's is simply na = id quod (see na); the Irish is some mediæval development with , for old ana, id quod, was lost, the simple a (art.) being used now in its stead, as in Old Irish As it was impossible to use a in the comparative construction with clearness, recourse was had to ní is. Thus Irish: An tan do thógradh ní ba mó do dheunamh = Gaelic An tan a thogradh e na bu mhò a dhèanamh. Hence ni 's should never have been used in Scottish Gaelic.
niùc
a corner; from the Scottish neuk, Middle English no@-k. Dial. iùc. Skeat thinks the English is the borrower.
no
or, vel, Irish , Early Irish, Old Irish , Welsh neu; See na.
nochd
to-night, Irish anochd, Old Irish innocht, hac nocte: the art. and nochd, night, Welsh henoeth, Cornish neihur, Breton neyzor, nos: *nokti-; Latin nox, noctis; Greek @Gnúx, @Gnuktós; Gothic nahts, English night; Lithuanian naktìs; Sanskrit nákti.
nochd
naked, Irish nochdadh, manifestation, Old Irish nnocht, Welsh noeth, Cornish noyth, Breton noaz: *noqto-; Gothic naqaþs, Old High German nacot, English naked; further cf. Latin nûdus (*nogvidus); Slavonic nagu@u; Sanskrit nagná.
nodadh
a nod, suggestion; from the English
nodha
new; See nuadh.
noig
the anus:
noig
old-fashioned face; noigeiseach, snuffy; noigeanach (D. Bàn):
noigean
a noggin, Irish noigin; from the English noggin. Skeat thinks the English are the borrowers; but this is unlikely.
nòin
noon, Irish nóin, g. nóna, evening, noon, Early Irish nóin, nóna, Welsh nawn; from the Latin nôna hora, ninth hour of the day, or 3 o'clock.
noir
the east, Irish anoir, Old Irish anair, "from before", if one looks at the morning sun; from an (see a) and air.
nollaig
Christmas, Irish nodlog, Early Irish notlaic, Welsh nadolig; from Latin natalicia, the Nativity.
norra
a wink of sleep (Arran), norradh (M`Rury):
nòs
a custom, Irish, Early Irish nós, Welsh naws, Middle Breton neuz: *nomzo-, Greek @Gnomos, law, Latin numerus. Thurneysen thinks the Gadelic words are borrowed from the Welsh naws, from gnaws ( See gnàth). Stokes gives *nomso- as stem for Gadelic alone; the Welsh he regards as from gnâ, as above. The ideal stem would be *nâsto-, root nâd.
nòs
a cow's first milk, Early Irish nus; from nua, new, and ass, milk.


Previous Section Index Next Section


jtm