scíath

See also: sciath

Old Irish

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *skeitos (compare Breton skoed (“shield”)), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, separate”). Compare Latin scūtum, Old Church Slavonic щитъ (štitŭ).

Noun

scíath m or f

1. shield, buckler
2. (by extension) warrior
3. protection, defense, safeguard
4. protector, guardian

Inflection

Masculine o-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	scíath	scíathL	scéithL
Vocative	scéith	scíathL	scíathuH
Accusative	scíathN	scíathL	scíathuH
Genitive	scéithL	scíath	scíathN
Dative	scíathL	scíathaib	scíathaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Irish: sciath
• Scottish Gaelic: sgiath

Etymology 2

The final th (/θ/) was modified from d (/ð/) sometime in the prehistory of Old Irish under the influence of scíath (“shield”) above. From Proto-Celtic *skeidā (“wing, shoulder”). Cognate with Welsh ysgwydd (“shoulder”), Breton skoaz (“shoulder”), and Cornish skoodh (“shoulder”)

Noun

scíath m

1. wing

Inflection

Masculine o-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	scíath	scíathL	scéithL
Vocative	scéith	scíathL	scíathuH
Accusative	scíathN	scíathL	scíathuH
Genitive	scéithL	scíath	scíathN
Dative	scíathL	scíathaib	scíathaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

• scíathán

Descendants

• Irish: sciath
• Scottish Gaelic: sgiath

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 scíath”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “2 scíath”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language