líag

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• líach

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *leigā, from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵʰ- (“to lick”). The form with final -ch, líach, is secondary; see tech for how.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l͈ʲiːa̯ɣ/

Noun

líag f

1. spoon, ladle

Inflection

Feminine ā-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	líagL	léigL	líagaH
Vocative	líagL	léigL	líagaH
Accusative	léigN	léigL	líagaH
Genitive	léigeH	líagL	líagN
Dative	léigL	líagaib	líagaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Irish: liach
• Manx: lheegh
• Scottish Gaelic: liogh, liagh

Mutation

Mutation of líag

radical	lenition	nasalization
líag also llíag after a proclitic ending in a vowel	líag pronounced with /l(ʲ)-/	unchanged

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), “2 líach ‘spoon’”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language