ailbhean

Scottish Gaelic

Ailbhean.

Alternative forms

• oileabhan, oillbheint, oilleabhaint

Etymology

From Middle Irish elifaint, borrowed from Old French olifant. Cognate with Irish eilifint.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛl̪ɛvan/
• Hyphenation: ail‧bhean

Noun

ailbhean m

1. elephant

Declension

Declension of ailbhean (type I masculine noun)

indefinite
	singular	plural
nominative	ailbhean	ailbheanan
genitive	ailbhein	ailbheanan
dative	ailbhean	ailbheanan; ailbheanaibh✝
definite
	singular	plural
nominative	(an) t-ailbhean	(na) h-ailbheanan
genitive	(an) ailbhein	(nan) ailbheanan
dative	(an) ailbhean	(na) h-ailbheanan; h-ailbheanaibh✝
vocative	ailbhein	ailbheanan

^✝ obsolete form, used until the 19th century

Mutation

Mutation of ailbhean

radical	eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
ailbhean	n-ailbhean	h-ailbhean	t-ailbhean

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

References

• Colin Mark (2003) “ailbhean”, in The Gaelic-English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 16