leum

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

• lèim

Etymology

From Old Irish léimm, from Proto-Celtic *lanxsman (compare Welsh llam), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- (“light, not heavy”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʎeːm/

Noun

leum m (genitive singular leuma, plural leuman or leumannan)

1. verbal noun of leum
2. leap, bound, spring, frisk, start, shake

   leum gàbhaidh ― a dangerous leap

3. leaping, act of leaping, jump
4. animal semen
5. emission
6. flaw
7. sudden rage, impulsive anger
8. milk

Derived terms

• ath-leum (“second leap”)
• baoth-leum (“fearful or dangerous leap; prancing, vaulting; bound”)
• bliadhna-leum (“leap-year”)
• cruinn-leum (“leal without a run, standing jump; bound; horse's gallop”)
• déidh-leum (“horse-fetter”)
• dì-leum (“shackle; horse-fetter”)
• frith-leum (“quickstep; skip, bound, hop”)
• grad-leum (“quick spring, jump, bound”)
• guda-leum (“bound, wild leap”)
• leum a' bhradain (“the salmon leap”)
• leum-a-chrann (“honeysuckle or woodbine”)
• leum-àrd (“high jump”)
• leum-droma (“lumbago”)
• leum-fada (“long jump”)
• leum-ruith (“running leap”)
• leum-shneachd (“avalanche”)
• leum-uisge (“waterfall”)

 

Verb

leum (past leum, future leumaidh, verbal noun leum, past participle leumte)

1. leap, bound, spring, skip, frisk, hop, jump, start
2. bleed (nose)
3. pass (as time, or through space)

   Nuair a leumas e an Fhéill-Brìghde, chan earb an sionnach 'earball ris an deigh. ― When Candlemas is past, the fox will not trust his tail to the ice.

   Leum e air a' mheadhan-oidhche. ― It passed midnight.

4. make a slip of the tongue

   Leum mo theanga orm. ― My tongue slipped. I put my foot in it.

Derived terms

• ath-leum (“rebound, spring or leap again”, verb)
• cair-leum (“tumble or toss about; beat about”, verb)
• frith-leum (“skip, leap, bound, hop”, verb)
• grad-leum (“spring, jump quickly”, verb)

 

Further reading

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “leum”, 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), “léimm”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language