fiann

Irish

Alternative forms

• fian

Etymology

From Old Irish fían, from Proto-Celtic *weinā (“band of warriors”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- (“to chase, pursue”). Cognate with Latin vēnor (“I hunt”), Old English wynn (“joy, desire”) and Old Norse vinr (“friend”).

Noun

fiann f (genitive singular féinne, nominative plural fianna)

1. roving band of warrior-hunters
2. band of soldiers
3. (by extension) band, group

   Bíonn fiann pleotaí ag crochadh thart timpeall an bpub. ― There's usually a band of gobshites hanging around the pub.

Declension

Declension of fiann (second declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative fiann fianna vocative a fhiann a fhianna genitive féinne fiann dative fiann féinn (archaic, dialectal) fianna forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an fhiann na fianna genitive na féinne na bhfiann dative leis an bhfiann leis an bhféinn (archaic, dialectal) don fhiann don fhéinn (archaic, dialectal) leis na fianna

Derived terms

• Amhrán na bhFiann
• fiann fichille (“set of chessmen”)
• Fianna Éireann (national insurrectionary scout body)
• Fianna Fáil (political party)
• Fianna Fhinn (“legendary warrior-bands of Fionn Mac Cumhaill”)
• fiannas m (“military service”)
• na Fianna (“legendary warrior-bands of Fionn Mac Cumhaill”)

Related terms

• féinní m (“roving warrior”)
• fiannach (“pertaining to warrior bands”, adjective)
• fiannaí m (“storyteller”)
• fiannaíocht f (“service in a warrior band”)
• fiannlaoch m (“member of warrior band”)

Noun

fiann m

1. (obsolete, rare)
   1. (historical, Irish mythology) a Fenian
   2. a soldier
   3. hero, champion
   4. one of the Fianna Éireann

Mutation

Mutated forms of fiann

radical	lenition	eclipsis
fiann	fhiann	bhfiann

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

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “fían”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “fiann”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 312
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1927) “fiann”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 2nd edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “fiann”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “fiann”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “fiann”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎^[1], Stirling, →ISBN