foirfe

Irish

Alternative forms

• foirbhthe (superseded)

Etymology

From Old Irish foirbthe (“complete, perfect; old, aged”), past participle of for·fen (“finishes, completes, brings to an end”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfˠɪɾʲəfʲə/, /ˈfˠɛɾʲəfʲə/

Adjective

foirfe

1. complete, perfect

   Antonyms: anfhoirfe, neamhfhoirfe

2. aged, mature
3. (grammar) perfect

Declension

Declension of foirfe

	singular		plural (m/f)
Positive	masculine	feminine	(strong noun)	(weak noun)
nominative	foirfe	fhoirfe	foirfe; fhoirfe2
vocative	fhoirfe		foirfe
genitive		foirfe	foirfe	foirfe
dative	foirfe; fhoirfe1	fhoirfe	foirfe; fhoirfe2
Comparative	níos foirfe
Superlative	is foirfe

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

Derived terms

• foirfeach
• foirfeacht

 

Related terms

• foirfigh (“complete, perfect; age, mature”, verb)

Mutation

Mutated forms of foirfe

radical	lenition	eclipsis
foirfe	fhoirfe	bhfoirfe

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

References

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “foirfe”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 foirbthe”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish foirbthe, past participle of for·fen (“finishes, completes, brings to an end”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɤɾʲfə/

Adjective

foirfe

1. perfect, good, faultless
2. old, ancient
3. come to man's estate or years of maturity

Mutation

Mutation of foirfe

radical	lenition
foirfe	fhoirfe

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

References

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “foirfe”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[1], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 foirbthe”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language