gáel

See also: gael, Gael, and Gaël

Middle Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *gailos (compare Lithuanian gailùs (“compassionate”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gailjan, “gladden”), German geil (“wanton”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (earlier) /ɡɤːl/, (later) /ɡɯːl/

Noun

gáel m (genitive gaíl, nominative plural gáelta)

1. relationship, kinship
2. relative, kin

Descendants

• Irish: gaol
• Scottish Gaelic: gaol

Mutation

Mutation of gáel

radical	lenition	nasalization
gáel	gáel pronounced with /ɣ(ʲ)-/	ngáel

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Middle 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), “1 gáel”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language