lánamain

Old Irish

Etymology

Explained by Thurneysen as from lán (“whole, complete”) +‎ emon (“twin, triplet”),[1] but the semantics and morphology (emon is a masculine o-stem, this term is a feminine ī-stem) are difficult to reconcile. However, the Manx descendant lannoon also means "twin".

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈl͈aːnaṽɨnʲ]

Noun

lánamain f (genitive lánamnae, nominative plural lánamnai)

married couple

Inflection

Feminine ī-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	lánamain^L	lánamain^L	lánamnai^H
Vocative	lánamain^L	lánamain^L	lánamnai^H
Accusative	lánamnai^N	lánamain^L	lánamnai^H
Genitive	lánamnae^H	lánamnae^L	lánamnae^N
Dative	lánamnai^L	lánamnaib	lánamnaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: ^H = triggers aspiration ^L = triggers lenition ^N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

lánamnas

Descendants

Middle Irish: lánamain
- Irish: lánúin
- Scottish Gaelic: lànan
- Manx: lannoon (“twin”)

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
lánamain also llánamain after a proclitic	lánamain pronounced with /l(ʲ)-/	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

Thurneysen, Rudolf (1936) Studies in Early Irish Law, Hodges, Figgis & Company, page 4