mí-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mi"

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish mí- (compare Scottish Gaelic mì-), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to change”). Cognate with English mis-, Latin minus (“lesser”), Ancient Greek μείων (meíōn, “less”).

Prefix

mí-

1. Having a negative or missing quality

   bad, ill-, evil, dis-, mis-, mal-

2. not

   un-, in-, dis-, mis-

Usage notes

• Does not change form for broad or slender nouns;
• Triggers lenition when attached to a noun or adjective beginning with a consonant:

  ‎mí- + ‎ceart (“right, correct”) → ‎mícheart (“incorrect, wrong”)

  ‎mí- + ‎cothrom (“equal; balanced; level”) → ‎míchothrom (“uneven”)

• Written with a hyphen when attached to nouns or adjectives beginning with a vowel:

  ‎mí- + ‎ordú (“order”) → ‎mí-ordú (“disorder”)

Synonyms

• ain-
• do-
• neamh-
• ro-

Derived terms

Irish terms prefixed with mí-

mí-ádh

mí-ailíniú

mí-aimseartha

mí-áireamh

mí-aithriúil

míbhainistíocht

míbhéasach

míbhlas

míbhreithiúnas

míbhunreachtúil

míbhuntáiste

míchaidreamhach

míchaidreamhacht

mícheart

míchiall

míchleachtas

míchneasta

míchompord

míchothrom

míchríostúil

míchruinn

míchruthach

míchúirtéis

míchumtha

mídhaonna

mídhaonnacht

mídhaonnachtúil

mídhéanamh

mídhílseacht

mí-éifeacht

mífhaisnéis

mífhearúil

mífhoighneach

mífholláin

mífhonnmhar

mígheanmnaíocht

míghléas

míghnaíúil

míghreann

mí-ionraic

míléamh

mímhacánta

mímhisneach

mímhorálta

mímhúinte

mínáire

mínáireach

mínormálta

mí-oiriúint

mí-oiriúnach

mí-oiriúnacht

mí-ordú

míphléisiúr

míphléisiúrtha

míphoncúil

míphoncúlacht

míréalaíocht

mírialta

mírialtacht

míríomh

míshásta

míshlachtmhar

míshoiléir

místiúrtha

míthaitneamhach

mítharraingteach

mí-urraim

mí-urramach

Mutation

Mutated forms of mí-

radical	lenition	eclipsis
mí-	mhí-	not applicable

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

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “mí-”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “mí-”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎^[1], Stirling, →ISBN

Old Irish

Etymology

Possibly from mis (“less”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to change”).

Prefix

mí-

1. (derogatory) evil, ill, sinister

   Synonym: do-

Derived terms

Old Irish terms prefixed with mí-

mídénum

mí-imbert

Descendants

• Irish: mí-
• Manx: mee-
• Scottish Gaelic: mì-

Mutation

Mutation of mí-

radical	lenition	nasalization
mí- also mmí- after a proclitic ending in a vowel	mí- pronounced with /β̃(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), “mí-”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language