fabhtach

Irish

Alternative forms

• fobhtach

Etymology

From fabht (“fault, flaw; hidden defect; unsoundness at core”) +‎ -ach.

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /ˈfˠaut̪ˠəx/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈfˠəut̪ˠa(x)/

Adjective

fabhtach (genitive singular masculine fabhtaigh, genitive singular feminine fabhtaí, plural fabhtacha, comparative fabhtaí)

1. faulty, flawed; hollow at core, unsound
2. deceptive, treacherous

Declension

Declension of fabhtach

	singular		plural (m/f)
Positive	masculine	feminine	(strong noun)	(weak noun)
nominative	fabhtach	fhabhtach	fabhtacha; fhabhtacha2
vocative	fhabhtaigh		fabhtacha
genitive		fabhtaí	fabhtacha	fabhtach
dative	fabhtach; fhabhtach1	fhabhtach; fhabhtaigh (archaic)	fabhtacha; fhabhtacha2
Comparative	níos fabhtaí
Superlative	is fabhtaí

¹ When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article.
² When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.

Synonyms

• fabhtaithe, fabhtúil

Related terms

• fabhtacht (“hollowness, unsoundness; deceptiveness”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of fabhtach

radical	lenition	eclipsis
fabhtach	fhabhtach	bhfabhtach

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) “fabhtach”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “fabhtach”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “fabhtach”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2025
• Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 63