seach

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃax/

Etymology 1

From Old Irish sech, from Proto-Celtic *sekʷo-, from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“follow”). Cognate with Welsh heb (“without”).

Preposition

seach (plus nominative, triggers no mutation)

1. (literary) by, past, beyond
2. other than, rather than, more than

Inflection

Inflection of seach

Person	Normal	Emphatic
1st person sing.	seacham	seachamsa
2d person sing.	seachad	seachadsa
3d sing. masc.	seacha	seachasan
3d sing. fem.	seacha	seachaise
1st person pl.	seachainn	seachainne
2d person pl.	seachaibh	seachaibhse
3d person pl.	seacha	seachasan

Derived terms

• seachas (“besides, other than, rather than; compared to”)
• seachród

Etymology 2

Noun

seach

1. Only used in faoi seach

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 sech”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “seach”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “seach”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “seach”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish sech, from Proto-Celtic *sekʷo-, from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“follow”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɛx/

Preposition

seach (+ nominative)

1. rather than
2. compared to, in comparison with

   Tha e neònach na dhòighean seach iomadh ainmhidh eile.

   It is peculiar in its behaviour compared to many other animals.

   Tha a chòig uiread de dhaoine a’ fuireach ann an Nepal, seach Alba.

   Five times as many people live in Nepal as in Scotland.

3. after, past (usually when referring to a sequence)

Usage notes

• Placed between two identical words has the meaning of "either" or "neither":

  na creid fear seach fear aca ― don't believe either of them

  cha b' e aon seach aon ― it was neither one nor the other

  chan eil sin cothromach do dh'àite seach àite ― that isn't fair to either place

Derived terms

• fear mu seach
• mu seach
• seach-shlighe
• seach-thìm
• tè mu seach

 

Related terms

• seachad

West Frisian

Verb

seach

1. first/third-person singular simple past of sjen: I/he/she/it saw