ceithearn

Irish

Alternative forms

• ceatharn

Etymology

From Middle Irish ceithern (“band of soldiers”), from Latin quaterniō (“group of four soldiers”).

Noun

ceithearn f (genitive singular ceithirne, nominative plural ceithearna)

1. (historical, military) troop of foot soldiers
2. (historical) yeomanry
3. multitude

Declension

Declension of ceithearn (second declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative ceithearn ceithearna vocative a cheithearn a cheithearna genitive ceithirne ceithearn dative ceithearn ceithirn (archaic, dialectal) ceithearna forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an cheithearn na ceithearna genitive na ceithirne na gceithearn dative leis an gceithearn leis an gceithirn (archaic, dialectal) don cheithearn don cheithirn (archaic, dialectal) leis na ceithearna

Derived terms

• ceithearnach (“kern, pawn”)
• ceithearnach timpill (“bodyguard”)
• ceithearn choille (“woodkern, highwayman”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of ceithearn

radical	lenition	eclipsis
ceithearn	cheithearn	gceithearn

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

Further reading

• “ceithearn”, in Historical Irish Corpus, 1600–1926, Royal Irish Academy
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “ceithern”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “ceaṫarn”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 130
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “ceiṫearn”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 133
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “ceithearn”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN