cléireach

See also: clèireach and Clèireach

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish cléirech (“cleric; clerk”), from Late Latin clēricus, from Ancient Greek κληρικός (klērikós). By surface analysis, cléir (“clergy”) +‎ -ach.

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /ˈclʲeːɾʲəx/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈclʲeːɾʲa(x)/

Noun

cléireach m (genitive singular cléirigh, nominative plural cléirigh)

1. clerk
2. (historical) cleric
3. altar server

Declension

Declension of cléireach (first declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative cléireach cléirigh vocative a chléirigh a chléireacha genitive cléirigh cléireach dative cléireach cléirigh forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an cléireach na cléirigh genitive an chléirigh na gcléireach dative leis an gcléireach don chléireach leis na cléirigh

Quotations

• 1939, Peig Sayers, “Inghean an Cheannaidhe”, in Marie-Louise Sjoestedt, Description d’un parler irlandais de Kerry (Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études; 270) (overall work in French), Paris: Librairie Honoré Champion, page 196:

  Do luigh sé isteach mar chléireach siopa i dtigh mór cúraim.

  He went to work as a shop clerk in a large trading house.

Derived terms

• ardchléireach
• banchléireach
• cléireach loingis
• cléireach túise
• cléireach túise (“incense-bearer”)
• cléireach-chlóscríobhaí
• cléireachas
• mac-chléireach

Mutation

Mutated forms of cléireach

radical	lenition	eclipsis
cléireach	chléireach	gcléireach

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) “cléireach”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN