beithir

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish beithir, possibly from Proto-Celtic *betrixs.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbʲɛhəɾʲ/

Noun

beithir f (genitive singular beithre or beithreach, nominative plural beithreacha)

  1. (literary) bear (animal)
  2. (literary) warrior

Declension

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
beithir bheithir mbeithir
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

Old Irish

Etymology

Possibly from Proto-Celtic *betrixs. The sense of bear, according to MacBain, was undoubtedly influenced by or borrowed from Proto-Germanic *berô, but the word also had the sense of wild beast, serpent, monster, and the like, which could be a Celtic descendant of the source of Latin bēstia (wild beast), itself of uncertain origin[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈbʲeθʲirʲ]

Noun

beithir f or m (genitive bethrach or beithre)

  1. bear
  2. warrior, hero

Inflection

Feminine k-stem
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative beithir bethraigL bethraig
Vocative beithir bethraigL bethracha
Accusative bethraigN bethraigL bethracha
Genitive bethrach bethrach bethrachN
Dative bethraigL bethrachaib bethrachaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
  • H = triggers aspiration
  • L = triggers lenition
  • N = triggers nasalization

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
RadicalLenitionNasalization
beithir beithir
pronounced with /v(ʲ)-/
mbeithir
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

  1. MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “beithir”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Stirling, →ISBN

Further reading

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish beithir, possibly from Proto-Celtic *betrixs.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈpe.ɪɾʲ/

Noun

beithir m (genitive singular beathrach, plural beithrichean or beathraichean)

  1. (regional) bear (animal)
  2. serpent, viper
  3. wild beast

Mutation

Scottish Gaelic mutation
Radical Lenition
beithirbheithir
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

  • MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “beithir”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Stirling, →ISBN
  • Edward Dwelly (1911) “beithir”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
  • G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “beithir”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
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