Gaoidhealg

Classical Gaelic

Alternative forms

• Gáoidhealg

Etymology

From Old Irish Goídelc.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡəːðʲəlɡ/

Proper noun

Gaoidhealg f (genitive singular Gaoidhilge, dative and accusative singular Gaoidhilg)

1. Gaelic language, Irish
2. (grammar) pronunciation, spoken language as opposed to ogham (“spelling, written language”)
   • a. 1640, Eoin Mac Cárthaigh, editor, The Art of Bardic Poetry: A New Edition of Irish Grammatical Tracts I, published 2014, §2, ll. 80–3, page 56:

     ⁊ dlighidh dā phríomhlocht na soidélach do sheachna, (…) ⁊ an connsuine bháithtear do G[h]āoidheilg do dhénamh d’ogham san chomhfhocal

     and he should avoid the two cardinal faults of the peudo-knowledgeable, (…) and writing the consonant elided in pronunciation in a compound word

   • a. 1640, Eoin Mac Cárthaigh, editor, The Art of Bardic Poetry: A New Edition of Irish Grammatical Tracts I, published 2014, §50, ll. 555–6, page 88:

     Nī cōir na séimhighthe-sin náid a leithéide eile do rádh do G[h]āoidheilg, giodh cōir d’ogham íad

     Such lenition should not be expressed in pronunciation, though it is correct in writing

Declension

Gaoidhealg, f., ā-stem
Case/Number	Singular
Nominative	an Ghaoidhealg
Vocative	a Ghaoidhealg
Accusative	gan an nGaoidhilg
Genitive	na Gaoidhilge
Dative	don Ghaoidhilg

The unstressed vowel in the second syllable between slender consonants is often spelt ei in this word (don Gháoidheilg, na Gáoidheilge, etc.).

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “Goídelc”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1927) “Gaedhealg”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 2nd edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish Goídelc.

Proper noun

Gaoidhealg f (genitive Gaoidhilge)

1. Obsolete form of Gaeilge.

Declension

Declension of Gaoidhealg (second declension, no plural)

bare forms case singular nominative Gaoidhealg vocative a Ghaoidhealg genitive Gaoidhilge dative Gaoidhilg forms with the definite article case singular nominative an Ghaoidhealg genitive na Gaoidhilge dative leis an nGaoidhilg don Ghaoidhilg

Mutation

Mutated forms of Gaoidhealg

radical	lenition	eclipsis
Gaoidhealg	Ghaoidhealg	nGaoidhealg

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

References

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “Gaoidheal”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “Goídelc”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language