caint

See also: Caint, and cain't

Irish

Alternative forms

• cainnt (superseded)

Etymology

From Old Irish cainnt (“speech, talk, conversation; act of speaking”).

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /kɑin̠ʲtʲ/
• (Cois Fharraige) IPA^(key): /kan̠ʲtʲ/, /kain̠ʲtʲ/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /kæn̠ʲtʲ/

Noun

caint f (genitive singular cainte, nominative plural cainteanna)

1. speech
2. talking (acting as a verbal noun for a verb with no finite forms)

   Tá sé ag caint liom.

   He's talking to me

Declension

Declension of caint

Second declension

Bare forms Case Singular Plural Nominative caint cainteanna Vocative a chaint a chainteanna Genitive cainte cainteanna Dative caint cainteanna

Forms with the definite article Case Singular Plural Nominative an chaint na cainteanna Genitive na cainte na gcainteanna Dative leis an gcaint don chaint leis na cainteanna

Derived terms

• alamais chainte f (“incoherent speech”)
• bolgchaint f (“ventriloquism”)
• cainteach (“talkative, chatty”)
• cainteoir m (“speaker”)
• mionchaint f (“small talk”)
• síorchaint f (“(act of) talking continually; never-ending talk”)

 

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
caint	chaint	gcaint
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “cainnt”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 106
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “caint”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “caint”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “caint”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024