céad

See also: cead

Irish

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /ciːa̯d̪ˠ/
• (Connacht, Ulster) IPA^(key): /ceːd̪ˠ/

Etymology 1

Irish numbers ^(edit)

←  10	←  90	100	1,000  →
		10
Cardinal: céad     Ordinal: céadú

From Old Irish cét, from Proto-Celtic *kantom, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥tóm.

Alternative forms

• ceud (obsolete)

Numeral

céad

1. hundred

Derived terms

• céad míle fáilte

Noun

céad m (genitive singular céid, nominative plural céadta)

1. (group of a) hundred
2. century
3. hundredweight

Declension

Declension of céad (first declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative céad céadta vocative a chéid a chéadta genitive céid céadta dative céad céadta forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an céad na céadta genitive an chéid na gcéadta dative leis an gcéad don chéad leis na céadta

Synonyms

• (century): aois
• (hundredweight): céad meáchain

Etymology 2

Irish numbers ^(edit)

		10
		1	2  → [a], [b]	10  →
Cardinal: aon     Ordinal: céad, aonú     Ordinal abbreviation: 1ú     Personal: aonar     Attributive: amháin

From Old Irish cét-, from Proto-Celtic *kentus (“first”), from Proto-Indo-European *ken- (“new, fresh”); cognate with Latin recēns (“recent”) and Ancient Greek καινός (kainós, “new”).

Adjective

céad (indeclinable) (triggers lenition (except of d, s, and t))

1. first

   an chéad fhear ― the first man

   na chéad daoine ― the first people

   ar an gcéad líne ― on the first line

Usage notes

• Usually preceded by the definite article, and always lenited after the article except in the dative singular, where it mutates according to the preposition used.

Derived terms

• Céadaoin
• céadphroinn

Mutation

Mutated forms of céad

radical	lenition	eclipsis
céad	chéad	gcéad

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

Further reading

• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “céad”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 122
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “céad”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Ó Dónaill, Niall, Ua Maoileoin, Pádraig (1991) “céad”, in An Foclóir Beag (in Irish), Dublin: An Gúm
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “céad”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “céad”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2025