marbh

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish marb, from Proto-Celtic *marwos (“dead”) (compare Welsh marw), from Proto-Indo-European *mr̥wós (compare *mr̥tós), ultimately from the root *mer- (“to die”).

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /ˈmˠɑɾˠəvˠ/
• (Connacht) IPA^(key): /ˈmˠaɾˠuː/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈmˠaɾˠu/

Adjective

marbh (genitive singular masculine mairbh, genitive singular feminine mairbhe, plural marbha, comparative mairbhe)

1. dead

   Tá m’athair féin marbh.

   My own father is dead.

2. defunct

Declension

Declension of marbh

Positive	singular		plural
	masculine	feminine
nominative	marbh	mharbh	marbha; mharbha2
vocative	mhairbh		marbha
genitive		mairbhe	strong noun	weak noun
			marbha	marbh
dative	marbh; mharbh1	mharbh; mhairbh (archaic)	marbha; mharbha2
Comparative	níos mairbhe
Superlative	is mairbhe

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

• chomh marbh le hart (“stone dead”)
• maraigh (“kill, slay; murder”)
• marbhánta
• marbhlann (“morgue; mortuary”)
• marbhna
• marfach (“deadly, fatal, lethal; cruel”)
• marfóir (“killer”)
• marú (“killing; slaughter”)

See also

• bás
• éag

Noun

marbh m (genitive singular mairbh, nominative plural mairbh)

1. corpse, dead person

   Synonym: marbhán

2. (in the plural) the dead

Declension

Declension of marbh (first declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative marbh mairbh vocative a mhairbh a mharbha genitive mairbh marbh dative marbh mairbh forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an marbh na mairbh genitive an mhairbh na marbh dative leis an marbh don mharbh leis na mairbh

Mutation

Mutated forms of marbh

radical	lenition	eclipsis
marbh	mharbh	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) “marbh”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “marb”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry [Phonetics of an Irish Dialect of Kerry] (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, page 57

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish marb, from Proto-Celtic *marwos (“dead”) (compare Welsh marw), from Proto-Indo-European *mr̥wós (compare *mr̥tós), ultimately from the root *mer- (“to die”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaˌɾav/

Adjective

marbh

1. dead
2. defunct

Synonyms

• fon fhòid
• nach maireann

Verb

marbh (past mharbh, future marbhaidh, verbal noun marbhadh, past participle marbhta)

1. kill, murder

Conjugation

Conjugation of marbh (regular)

stem		marbh
verbal noun		marbhadh
past participle		marbhta
		singular			plural			impersonal
		first	second	third m/f	first	second	third
independent	past	mharbh mi	mharbh thu	mharbh e/i	mharbh sinn	mharbh sibh	mharbh iad	mharbhadh
	future	marbhaidh mi	marbhaidh tu	marbhaidh e/i	marbhaidh sinn	marbhaidh sibh	marbhaidh iad	marbhar marbhtar
	conditional	mharbhainn	mharbhadh tu	mharbhadh e/i	mharbhamaid mharbhadh sinn	mharbhadh sibh	mharbhadh iad	mharbhtadh mharbhaist1 mharbhaiste1
negative	past	cha do mharbh mi	cha do mharbh thu	cha do mharbh e/i	cha do mharbh sinn	cha do mharbh sibh	cha do mharbh iad	cha do mharbhadh
	future	cha mharbh mi	cha mharbh thu	cha mharbh e/i	cha mharbh sinn	cha mharbh sibh	cha mharbh iad	cha mharbhar cha mharbhtar
	conditional	cha mharbhainn	cha mharbhadh tu	cha mharbhadh e/i	cha mharbhamaid cha mharbhadh sinn	cha mharbhadh sibh	cha mharbhadh iad	cha mharbhtadh cha mharbhaist1 cha mharbhaiste1
affirmative interrogative	past	an do mharbh mi?	an do mharbh thu?	an do mharbh e/i?	an do mharbh sinn?	an do mharbh sibh?	an do mharbh iad?	an do mharbhadh?
	future	am marbh mi?	am marbh thu?	am marbh e/i?	am marbh sinn?	am marbh sibh?	am marbh iad?	am marbhar? am marbhtar?
	conditional	am marbhainn?	am marbhadh tu?	am marbhadh e/i?	am marbhamaid? am marbhadh sinn?	am marbhadh sibh?	am marbhadh iad?	am marbhtadh? am marbhaist?1 am marbhaiste?1
negative interrogative	past	nach do mharbh mi?	nach do mharbh thu?	nach do mharbh e/i?	nach do mharbh sinn?	nach do mharbh sibh?	nach do mharbh iad?	nach do mharbhadh?
	future	nach marbh mi?	nach marbh thu?	nach marbh e/i?	nach marbh sinn?	nach marbh sibh?	nach marbh iad?	nach marbhar? nach marbhtar?
	conditional	nach marbhainn?	nach marbhadh tu?	nach marbhadh e/i?	nach marbhamaid? nach marbhadh sinn?	nach marbhadh sibh?	nach marbhadh iad?	nach marbhtadh? nach marbhaist?1 nach marbhaiste?1
relative future	affirmative	(ma) mharbhas mi	(ma) mharbhas thu	(ma) mharbhas e/i	(ma) mharbhas sinn	(ma) mharbhas sibh	(ma) mharbhas iad	(ma) mharbhar
	negative	(mur) marbh mi	(mur) marbh thu	(mur) marbh e/i	(mur) marbh sinn	(mur) marbh sibh	(mur) marbh iad	(mur) marbhar (mur) marbhtar
imperative		marbham	marbh	marbhadh e/i	marbhamaid	marbhaibh	marbhadh iad	marbhar marbhtar

¹ Lewis dialect form

Noun

marbh m (genitive singular mairbh, plural mairbh)

1. dead, stillness, quiet
2. dead person, corpse

Mutation

Mutation of marbh

radical	lenition
marbh	mharbh

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

See also

• bàs

References

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