meánach

Irish

Alternative forms

• meadhónach (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old Irish medónach (compare Scottish Gaelic meadhanach). By surface analysis, meán (“middle; mean; medium; average”) +‎ -ach (adjectival suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /ˈmʲɑːn̪ˠəx/
• (Connacht) IPA^(key): /ˈmʲɑːnˠəx/, /ˈmʲɑːn̪ˠəx/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈmʲæːnˠa(x)/, /ˈmʲæːn̪ˠa(x)/

Adjective

meánach (genitive singular masculine meánaigh, genitive singular feminine meánaí, plural meánacha, comparative meánaí)

1. middle, intermediate, central, medial
2. medium, average; moderate
3. mean

Declension

Declension of meánach

	singular		plural (m/f)
Positive	masculine	feminine	(strong noun)	(weak noun)
nominative	meánach	mheánach	meánacha; mheánacha2
vocative	mheánaigh		meánacha
genitive		meánaí	meánacha	meánach
dative	meánach; mheánach1	mheánach; mheánaigh (archaic)	meánacha; mheánacha2
Comparative	níos meánaí
Superlative	is meánaí

¹ When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article.
² When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.

Synonyms

• (mean, medial, average, medium): meán-
• (middle): lár

Derived terms

• an Baile Meánach (“Ballymena”)
• fomheánach (“submediant”, adjective)
• neamh-mheánach (“immediate”)
• néaróg mheánach f (“median nerve”)

 

Noun

meánach m (genitive singular meánaigh, nominative plural meánaigh)

1. (music) mediant

Declension

Declension of meánach (first declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative meánach meánaigh vocative a mheánaigh a mheánacha genitive meánaigh meánach dative meánach meánaigh forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an meánach na meánaigh genitive an mheánaigh na meánach dative leis an meánach don mheánach leis na meánaigh

Mutation

Mutated forms of meánach

radical	lenition	eclipsis
meánach	mheánach	not applicable

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

References

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “meánach”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “medónach”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “meánach”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “meánach”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024