nathair

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish nathir, from Proto-Celtic *natrixs (compare Welsh neidr, Breton naer), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)néHtr̥, from *(s)neh₁- (“to spin, twist”) (compare German Natter, English adder, Latin natrīx (“water snake”)).

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /ˈn̪ˠɑhəɾʲ/
• (Aran) IPA^(key): /ˈn̪ˠæhəɾʲ/

Noun

nathair f (genitive singular nathrach, nominative plural nathracha)

1. snake

Declension

Declension of nathair (fifth declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative nathair nathracha vocative a nathair a nathracha genitive nathrach nathracha dative nathair nathraigh (archaic, dialectal) nathracha forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an nathair na nathracha genitive na nathrach na nathracha dative leis an nathair leis an nathraigh (archaic, dialectal) don nathair don nathraigh (archaic, dialectal) leis na nathracha

Derived terms

• nathairín (“serpentine”)
• nathartha (“snake-like”)

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “nathair”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• 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 46

Old Irish

Noun

nathair f

1. Alternative spelling of nathir

Mutation

Mutation of nathair

radical	lenition	nasalization
nathair also nnathair after a proclitic ending in a vowel	nathair pronounced with /n(ʲ)-/	unchanged

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

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish nathir, from Proto-Celtic *natrixs (compare Welsh neidr, Breton naer), from Proto-Indo-European *nh₁trih₂, from *sneh₁- (“to spin, twist”) (compare snìomh, English adder, Latin natrīx (“water snake”)). Related to snàth (“thread”), snàthad (“needle”).

Pronunciation

• (Lewis) IPA^(key): /ˈn̪ˠãhəð/
• (North Uist, Barra) IPA^(key): /ˈn̪ˠahɛɾʲ/

Noun

nathair f (genitive singular nathrach, plural nathraichean)

1. A snake, serpent, or adder