beatha

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʲahə/
• (Aran) IPA^(key): /ˈbʲahə/, /ˈbʲæhə/, /ˈbʲaː/

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-

Proto-Indo-European *-wós

Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós

Proto-Celtic *biwos

Proto-Celtic *-tūts

Proto-Celtic *biwotūts

Old Irish bethu

Irish beatha

From Middle Irish betha, from Old Irish bethu, from Proto-Celtic *biwotūts (compare Welsh bywyd), from *biwos from Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós (“alive”) (compare Latin vīta, Ancient Greek βίοτος (bíotos), Old Church Slavonic животъ (životŭ, “life”), Lithuanian gyvatà (“life”), Sanskrit जीवित (jīvitá), Avestan 𐬔𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬊 (gaiio, “life”) (accusative 𐬘𐬌𐬌𐬁𐬙𐬎𐬨 (jiiātum))), from *gʷeyh₃-w- (“to live”).

Noun

beatha f (genitive singular beatha or beathadh, nominative plural beathaí)

1. life; biography
2. living, livelihood
3. food, sustenance

   Synonym: bia

Declension

Standard inflection (fourth declension)

Declension of beatha (fourth declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative beatha beathaí vocative a bheatha a bheathaí genitive beatha beathaí dative beatha beathaí forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an bheatha na beathaí genitive na beatha na mbeathaí dative leis an mbeatha don bheatha leis na beathaí

Alternative inflection (fifth declension)

Declension of beatha (fifth declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative beatha beathaí vocative a bheatha a bheathaí genitive beathadh beathaí dative beatha beathaidh (archaic, dialectal) beathaí forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an bheatha na beathaí genitive na beathadh na mbeathaí dative leis an mbeatha leis an mbeathaidh (archaic, dialectal) don bheatha don bheathaidh (archaic, dialectal) leis na beathaí

Derived terms

• antaibheathach
• beathachruth
• beathaigh
• beathaisnéis
• beathúil
• beathuisce
• bith- (“ever”)
• Dé do bheatha
• dea-bheatha
• débheathach
• frithbheathach
• is é do bheatha
• uisce beatha

Related terms

• beo (“alive”)

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “beatha”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “betha”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “beaṫa”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 63
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “beatha”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “beatha”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2025
• Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry [Phonetics of an Irish Dialect of Kerry] (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, page 50

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

beatha m sg

1. genitive singular of bith

Mutation

Mutated forms of beatha

radical	lenition	eclipsis
beatha	bheatha	mbeatha

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

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-

Proto-Indo-European *-wós

Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós

Proto-Celtic *biwos

Proto-Celtic *-tūts

Proto-Celtic *biwotūts

Old Irish bethu

Scottish Gaelic beatha

From Middle Irish betha, from Old Irish bethu, from Proto-Celtic *biwotūts, from *biwos from Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós (“alive”), from *gʷeih₃w- (“to live”).

Pronunciation

• (Lewis) IPA^(key): /b̥ɛh/
• (Harris, Uist) IPA^(key): /ˈb̥ɛhə/
• (Barra) IPA^(key): [ˈb̥æhʌ]

Noun

beatha f (genitive singular beatha, plural beathannan)

1. life

Declension

Forms without/with the definite article:

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	beatha/a' bheatha	beathannan/na beathannan
Genitive	beatha/na beatha	bheatha/nam beatha
Dative	beatha/a' bheatha	na beathannan/na beathannan

Derived terms

• 's e do bheatha, ur beatha
• beath-eachdraidh, eachdraidh-beatha
• beathach
• dà-bheathach
• dòigh-beatha
• fiadh-bheatha
• uisge-beatha

Mutation

Mutation of beatha

radical	lenition
beatha	bheatha

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

Further reading

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “beatha”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[2], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN