aoibh

Irish

Alternative forms

• aobh

Etymology

From Old Irish oíph, oíb (“semblance, appearance, beauty”), from Proto-Celtic *oɸibā (“beauty; appearance”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h₁opi-bʰeh₂-, a compound of the root *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”) prefixed with *h₁opi-. Cognate with Sanskrit अभिभा (abhibhā, “inauspicious omen”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈiːvʲ/

Noun

aoibh f (genitive singular aoibhe)

1. (literary) form, beauty
2. smile; pleasant expression

Declension

Declension of aoibh (second declension, no plural)

bare forms case singular nominative aoibh vocative a aoibh genitive aoibhe dative aoibh forms with the definite article case singular nominative an aoibh genitive na haoibhe dative leis an aoibh don aoibh

Derived terms

• aoibhiúil (“pleasant, smiling”, adjective)
• drochaoibh

Related terms

• aoibhinn
• aoibhneas
• Aoife

Mutation

Mutated forms of aoibh

radical	eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
aoibh	n-aoibh	haoibh	not applicable

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

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “aoibh”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• “aoibh”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2025