nimhneach

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish neimnech.^[1] By surface analysis, nimh (“poison”, noun) +‎ -ach (adjectival suffix).

Pronunciation

(Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈn̠ʲɨ̞̃vʲnʲa(x)/^[2]

Adjective

nimhneach (genitive singular masculine nimhnigh, genitive singular feminine nimhní, plural nimhneacha, comparative nimhní)

painful, sore; hurtful
venomous, spiteful; over-sensitive, touchy (of person)

Declension

Declension of *nimhneach*
	singular		plural (m/f)
Positive	masculine	feminine	(strong noun)	(weak noun)
nominative	nimhneach	nimhneach	nimhneacha
vocative	nimhnigh	nimhneach	nimhneacha
genitive	nimhnigh	nimhní	nimhneacha	nimhneach
dative	nimhneach	nimhneach; nimhnigh (archaic)	nimhneacha
Comparative	níos nimhní
Superlative	is nimhní

Derived terms

nimhneachán m (“over-sensitive, touchy, person”)
nimhneachas m (“painfulness, soreness; hurtfulness”)

References

^ Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 neimnech”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 92