finnfad

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• findfad, findfod

Etymology

Akin to finna, finnae (“a hair”), from Proto-Celtic *wendyos (compare synonymous finn from *wendom), from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“hair”). Cognate with Ancient Greek ἴονθος (íonthos, “hair root”) and Old High German wintbrāwa (“eyelash”) (whence German Wimper). Stokes favors *h₂welh₁- (“wool, fleece”).

Noun

finnfad m (genitive finnfaid)

1. hair (typically of the body), fur

Inflection

Masculine o-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	finnfad	finnfadL	finnfaidL
Vocative	finnfaid	finnfadL	finnfaduH
Accusative	finnfadN	finnfadL	finnfaduH
Genitive	finnfaidL	finnfad	finnfadN
Dative	finnfadL	finnfadaib	finnfadaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

• finnfadach (“hairy, shaggy”)

Descendants

• Irish: fionnadh
• Scottish Gaelic: fionnadh

Mutation

Mutation of finnfad

radical	lenition	nasalization
finnfad	ḟinnfad	finnfad pronounced with /β(ʲ)-/

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old 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), “finnfad”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language