Patrick Stephen Dinneen

“ An effort has been made, as far as the limits of the work permitted, to give examples of the principal idioms that involve the prepositions and other important words, but it is obvious that there are many idioms depending on the collocation of words which can be learned only by practice.
The treatment of local words, some of which are of very doubtful genuineness, was a matter of some anxiety. In some parts of the country certain English words have got an extraordinary twist, and in the mouths of Irish speakers pass for genuine Irish words. ”

“ With regard to the general question of the insertion of loan words in a dictionary or their use in the spoken and written language, it is to be said that are established in the written language, being used by good authors, or words in everyday conversational use, should find a place in a dictionary, from whatever source they may be derived. ”

“ In spite of many defects, it is claimed for this work that it contains a larger number of words used in the living Irish language and in the more modern written compositions than any Irish Dictionary yet published; that it gives the various words fuller grammatical treatment; that it explains them more in detail and with greater precision and accuracy; that it gives a fuller account of local usage and pronunciation; that it treats more fully the more important words which form the basis of the main idioms that constitute the core of the language ”

“ It is claimed that the book gives a fairly accurate explanation in English of the main stream of words, idioms and forms that constitute the Modern Irish Language. Absolute completeness, either in the list of words or in the idioms, is not claimed, the time and space limits and other circumstances affecting the production of the work rendering such completeness impossible. In the insertion of compound words, which form an important factor in the language, space had to be economized. ”

“ The general rule followed in setting down the inflectional termination after the words is to repeat the last letter of the invariable portion of the word, thus bronntóir, -óra, -óiriḋe, signifies that the genitive case of bronntóir is bronntóra, and its nominative plural is bronntóiriḋe; where, however, the inflexional termination is purely an addition to the noun, the last letter is generally not repeated, thus fuaṫ, -a signifies that fuaṫa is the genitive case of fuaṫ. ”

“ See parad.; substantive verb, I am, I live, I stay, am found, exist in a particular condition, there is, there exists. This verb is not used as a simple copula like is in the phrase John is a man, a king, etc., we cannot say *tá Seaghán fear, *tá Seaghán rí, we must say tá Seaghán i n-a fhear, tá Seaghán i n-a rígh. ”

“ The members of the Council wish to add their own sincere thanks to those of the Editor to all those gentlemen who have assisted the undertaking, either by reading proofs, or by the compilation of lists of local words, or by personal assistance rendered in different ways to the Editor. The names of those who have given financial aid will be found at the end of the volume. These marks of kindness and interest in the work have been of the greatest service, and have afforded much encouragement both to the Council and to the Editor. ”

“ The rel. prn. in nom. or acc. case does not require any equivalent in Irish, but this particle is often used where the rel. would occur.
A, rel, prn., eclipses, but becomes ar before past tenses, aspirating in active, and causing no change in consonants but prefixing h to vowels in passive voice. (1) all who, all which, all whom, all that; (2) after prep., whom, which.
A, poss. a. (1) her, its (f.) prefixes h- to vowels; (2) his, its (m.) , aspirates; (3) their, eclipses, prefixes n- to vowel. ”

“ A, prep, (a variety and development of prep. i, and used in preference to i in all modern MSS. At present i is more in favour in printed Irish, though a represents the sound more closely. In the earlier MSS. a is used instead of i before consonants followed by broad vowels) , in, into. See i.
A, prep., out of; no change in consonants, prefixes h to vowels, becomes as before article, rel. prn. and poss. adj. Cpds. asam, out of me; asat, asad,—thee; as,—him, it; aisti,—her, it; asainn,—us; asaiḃ,—you; asta,—them. Instead of a, as is now in common use as simple prep. ”

“ Its syntactical and inflexional systems have, indeed, been subject to a development similar to the development which takes place in the successive stages of every living and cultivated speech, but neither its syntax nor its inflexional system has been influenced to any great extent by neighbour tongues. ”

“ The state or condition which the verb de notes is variously expressed, 1st by adject, or past part., or adverb, as atá sé saidhbhir, he is rich; atá sé breoidhte, he is sick; atá sé creachta, he is robbed; táim go maith, I am well; tá sé go hálainn, it is splendid, he is well (i.e. in the best of health) ”

“ Aibéis, -e, f., a slovenly person (Aran) .
Áiḃéis, -e, f., pleasure, gladness, drollery; tá áiḃéis orm, I am glad or pleased (pron. áiṫḃéis or áiféis in Ker.) ; stáicín áiḃéis, a laughing-stock (W. Ker.) . ”

“ A.—Anglo-Irish (implying that the word is of English origin) .
ad.—adverb.
A. McC.—Art Mac Cooey, an Armagh poet of the 18th century.
Arm.—Armagh.
B.—The Barony (the tract so called in East Cork adjoining Youghal) . ”

“ A, weakened colloquial form of art and interrog. part. an between consonants; and of prep. ag before consonants of verbal noun used participially; also of d'a or ag a in such phrases as an fear a (go) ḃfuair a ṁac bás, the man whose son died.
A! interj., ah! oh! an exclamation of surprise or disgust. A! mo ṫruaṫ ṫú, oh! I pity you.
Ab, dep. form of verb is, joined to preceding particle; mumab, gurab, nárab. In opt. often shortened to a before consonants, as gura seaċt ḃfeárr do ḃeimíd i mbáraċ, may we be seven times better to-morrow.
Aḃa, g. aḃann, d. aḃainn, npl. aiḃne, gpl. ”

“ A, particle used before numerals when they do not qualify nouns, as a haon, one, the number one; a cúig, five.
A, colloquially prefixed as a kind of helping particle to some words and phrases, as a ċoiḋċe for ċoiḋċe, a siaṁ for siaṁ, a ḃeiṫ for ḃeiṫ (as well as for do ḃeiṫ) ; a lán, a great many; a ḃeag nó a ṁór, little or much. ”

“ I aspirate (in grammar) . anam, g. anma, anama, pl. (anama?) , anmanna, f., but nom. is usually m., soul, life; vigour, activity; is luachmhar an t-anam, life is precious; ag rith le n-'anam, running for the bare life; i mbárr an anama, id. (Mayo) ; i dtáiniste an anama, id. (M.) . an-am, m., indec., an unseasonable time, non-season; i n-am agus i n-an-am, in season and out of season. anamhain, -mhna, v. n.f., act of remaining. See fanamhain. anamamhail, -mhla, a., lively, vigorous (the word may be applied to a beast as well as to a man) . ”

“ See aoirde. airdhe, airdhean, m., characteristic attribute, sign, symptom; "ar airdheanaibh" (Kea.) . See airdhean and airidheacht. áirdeall, -dill, m., care, watchfulness; bíodh áirdeall ar an gcapall agat, keep an eye on the horse. áirdeallach, -aighe, a., watchful, sharp; ní fhaca mé duine riamh ní b'áirdeallaighe, bhí a shúil is chuil'áit aige, I never saw a more watchful person, his eye was everywhere (Con.) ”

“ See ainicim. anacra, g. id., f., distress, misery. See anacair. anacrach, -aighe, a., miserable. wretched, awkward. anádh, -áidh, m., misfortune, anaflóid, -e, -idhe, f., a fish with a large cloven breast (Ker.) . anaghaidh (i n-aghaidh) , against, before, with hostile intent; with g. or with poss. prn. before aghaidh. See aghaidh. anagarr, -airr, m., corrupted matter, organic matter in a very advanced state of decay. anaice le, i n-aice le, near, beside. See aice. ”

“ See mudha. amuigh, ad., out, outside, without (without movement) ; leath a., in addition to; leath-is-muigh, leasmuigh, outside; taobh amuigh, outside; tá rud amuigh agam, I am a creditor; tá siad amuigh le chéile, they are not on speaking terms; an t-ainm is breaghtha amuigh, the finest name of all; bhí sé amuigh air go, it was said of him that, etc. amuillidh, g. id., pl. -idhe, f., a trifle, a trick, amusement. an- (aspirates) , neg. prefix un-, in-, not-; prefixed to nouns often it signifies bad or evil ”

“ Ag, prep., [in pronom. combinations, agam, agat, aige (mas.) , aice (aici) , againn, agaiḃ, aca, somet. a vowel is added before poss. pron., as aige ḃar, and in pl. esp. before words beginning with cons, as tá sé aige (’ge) Seaġán, John has it; with relat. ’ga] at, with, by, of place, at, near (after verbs of rest and the subs. verb) ; ag an ndoras, at the door; ag an dteiniḋ, at the fire; of a cause, ní ṫuigim focal ag glór na haḃann, I do not hear a word on account of the noise of the river ”

“ Aḋḃras, -ais, m., a piece of woollen cloth manufactured from the raw material; yarn; cf., ní do’n aḋḃras an ċéad ṡnáiṫe; ag iarraiḋ aḋḃrais ar ṗocán. See aḃras.
Aḋḃrasóir, -óra, -óiriḋe, m., a carder of wool. See aḃras.
Adċím, I see. See do-ċím.
Adċonnarc, see ad-ċím and do-ċím.
Adeirim, v. tr., irreg. (see paradigms) , I say, utter, tell; with acc. of object and le with dat. of person addressed; adeirim an méid seo leat, I tell this much to you; also, with dep. clause with go, naċ, or ná; adeirim go ḃfuil, a. ná fuil or naċ ḃfuil; also with infinitive (rare) . ”

“ To denote a habitual mental state towards one (ar) tá gráin agam ort, I hate you. Fuaṫṁar ag Dia, hateful before God; with vls., corresponding to pr. part, in English, ag fás, growing; tá sé ag a (’ga) ṫaċtaḋ (as well as dá ṫaċtaḋ) , he is being choked; with vl. to express a while clause, ag bualaḋ aniar dó, while he was coming from the west; denotes the agent of actions going on or finished, tá sé scríoḃṫa agam, I have written it; cad tá agat dá scríoḃaḋ? what are you writing? ”

“ With i it expresses the precise state or condition in which the subject is tá sé 'n-a chodladh, he is asleep; tá sé 'n-a shuidhe, he is sitting up; tá sé i n-a fhear, he is a man, has grown to be a man, he is not a mere boy; but is fear é, he is a man essentially, abstracting from all changes and developments; tá sé 'na fhear, seems to imply progress and development or transformation, the result of which it expresses ”

“ I explore with the hand. áise, g. id., pl. -sidhe, f., a useful article; a convenience; what is one's own, as opposed to what is borrowed; is feárr áise na srathrach 'ná iasacht na diallaide, the straddle that one owns is better than the saddle that one borrows. ”

“ Aoibheall, f., the bean sidhe of the Dalcassians, who was supposed to dwell at Carraiglea (cf., Aoibheall na Carraige Léithe) . aoibhill, -e, a., pleasant, merry, joyous. aoibhill, -e, f., act of frisking (Don.) . aoibhinn, -bhne, a., delightful, pleasant, beautiful; is aoibhinn dó, it is well for him. aoibhneach, -nighe, a., glad, happy. aoibhneas, -neasa and -nis, m., delight, delightfulness, joy, pleasure, gladness; landscape beauty; joy from external objects, as distinct from áthas, joy from internal considerations. ”

“ See atal. áiteamh, -timh, m., act of persuading, convincing, arguing; persuasion; convincing argument, evidence, proof; níl aon áiteamh le fagháil air = there is no proof to be found against him. áiteamhail, -mhla, a., local. aiteann, -tinn, m., furze, gorse; aiteann Gaedhealach, a light species of furze that grows in tufts; aiteann Gallda nó Franncach, the coarser kind of furze with lighter blossom; aiteann Mhuire, a kind of wild palm (the word is fem. in Con. and Uls.; gen. -tinne) . aitheanta, p. a., known, acquainted, recognised, familiar, free, sociable. ”

“ Ailp, -e, pl. alpa, ailpeaċa, f., a protuberance, a huge lump, a high mountain; a stout person; a bite, a mouthful; a bite of a vicious dog or horse.
Ailpín, g. id., pl. -iḋe a knob, a stout-headed stick; cleath ailpín, a stout-headed stick.
Ailteoir, -ora, -oiriḋe, m., one who plays pranks, an "arch" fellow, a frivolous person.
aiṁ- (aṁ-) , neg. ”

“ Agraṫóir, -óra, -óiriḋe, m., a reprover, a claimant, a pleader.
Aguisín (dimin. of agus, and) , g. id., pl., -iḋe, m., a small addition; an exaggeration; an appendix to a book.
Agus (often reduced to a’s, as, is, ’s and by the Scotch to ’us) , conj. and, but, etc.; often introducing a circumstantial clause, while, seeing that, although, notwithstanding; an aṁlaiḋ a ṁeasfá go n-ólfainn é sin agus mo ḃean marḃ, do you think I would drink that seeing that my wife is lying dead? Tá sé ċugainn agus deaḃaḋ air, he is coming towards us in haste; used in co-relation with ċóṁ, as; as . . . as ”

“ See dia. an-lasánta, indec. a., very passionate, violent, impulsive, an-lúthgháireach, -righe, a., overjoyed. an-mhacnas, -ais, m., excessive desire, lust. anmhain, -e, -amhna (anamhain, fanamhain) , f., act of remaining, delaying. See fanmhain. anmhian, -mhéine, -mhianta, f., concupiscence, lust, sensuality. anmhianach, -aighe, a., sensual, lustful, fond of dainties. ann, pronoun comp. with i, " in it," there, used to express existence with atáim; atá Dia ann, God exists, there is a God; is breágh an aimsear atá ann, this is fine weather we have ”

“ See bas. ameasc, a measc, i measc, comp. prep., among, amongst, amid, between, with gen. or poss. prn.; i n-a measc, among them; i measc uasal, among nobles (Kea., F. F.) . ámén, amen (the word is pron. áimíon in M.) . amfhorrán, -áin, m., oppression, distress. See amarrán. amhgar, -air (pron. amhngar) , m., inconvenience, disadvantage, affliction; hunger, an unsatisfied want. ”

“ Áġ, g., áiġ and áġa, m., valour, success, battle, triumph, luck, good-luck. See áḋ.
Aga, g. id., m., respite, leisure, interval of time; ní’l aga agam air, I have no leisure to do it.
Aga, agá, compounded of ag, at, etc., and a, poss. prn., his, her, its, their.
Agaiḃ, prep. pr., 2pl., at or with ye, emph., -se. See ag prep.
Aġaiḋ, g. aiġṫe and aġaiḋe, pl. id., f., the face; ar aġaiḋ, opposite, over against, in front of; forward, with g. or poss. prn.; dul ar aġaiḋ, to progress; i n-aġaiḋ, against, before, with g. or poss. prn.; cur i n-aġaiḋ, to oppose, to stake, to remind ”

“ See isteach. aisteach, -tighe, a., droll, witty, ingenious, crafty, odd, strange; crazy. aisteachán, -áin, m., sports, games, jests; drollery. aisteachas, -ais, m., oddity, queerness, drollery, humour. aisteacht, -a, f., waggishness, drollery, pranks. aisteamhlacht, -a, f., drollery, queerness, jocoseness, a tendency to oddity. aistear, -tir, pl. id., and -treacha, m., a journey, a round-about way, a useless tour; chuireas a. orm Fein, I made a useless or unnecessary circuit, took a round-about way, made a journey in vain ”