duán

See also: duan, duàn, duān, and duǎn

Irish

Alternative forms

• dubhán (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle Irish dubán (“hook”). Cognate with Scottish Gaelic dubhan. Appears to be derived from dubh (“black”), though the semantic development is unclear. Perhaps “black thing” > “hook” (because iron hooks are black) > “kidney” (because kidneys are roughly hook-shaped).

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /d̪ˠəˈvˠɑːn̪ˠ/, [d̪ˠəˈvˠɑ̃ːn̪ˠ] (corresponding to the form dubhán)
• (Connacht) IPA^(key): /ˈd̪ˠuːɑːnˠ/, /ˈd̪ˠuːɑːn̪ˠ/
• (Aran) IPA^(key): /d̪ˠəˈwɑːn/, /ˈd̪ˠu.ɑːn/, /ˈd̪ˠɞwɑːn/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈd̪ˠuːanˠ/, /ˈd̪ˠuːan̪ˠ/

Noun

duán m (genitive singular duáin, nominative plural duáin)

1. kidney
2. fishhook

Declension

Declension of duán (first declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative duán duáin vocative a dhuáin a dhuána genitive duáin duán dative duán duáin forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an duán na duáin genitive an duáin na nduán dative leis an duán don duán leis na duáin

Derived terms

• duánach

Mutation

Mutated forms of duán

radical	lenition	eclipsis
duán	dhuán	nduán

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

Further reading

• “duán”, in Historical Irish Corpus, 1600–1926, Royal Irish Academy
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 dubán ‘fish-hook’”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “2 dubán ‘kidney’”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “duán”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 75