delb

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *delwā, from Proto-Indo-European *delh₁- (“to split”); compare Welsh delw.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dʲelβ]

Noun

delb f

1. form, shape
2. appearance
3. image, likeness
4. statue

Inflection

Feminine ā-stem

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	delbL	deilbL	delbaH
vocative	delbL	deilbL	delbaH
accusative	deilbN	deilbL	delbaH
genitive	delbaeH	delbL	delbN
dative	deilbL	delbaib	delbaib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

• ^H = triggers aspiration
• ^L = triggers lenition
• ^N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

• delbaid

Descendants

• Irish: dealbh
• Manx: jalloo
• Scottish Gaelic: dealbh

References

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “delb”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language