sleamhainn

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

• sleamhuinn

Etymology

From Old Irish slemon, from Proto-Celtic *slimnos, from Proto-Indo-European *sley- (“smear”). Cognate with Irish sleamhain, Manx shliawin, Welsh llyfn (“smooth”), Old Breton limn, English slip.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃʎɛ̃ũ.ɪɲ/
• (Lewis, Harris, Assynt, Islay) IPA^(key): /ˈʃʎɛ̃v.ɪɲ/

Adjective

sleamhainn (comparative sleamhna)

1. slippery

Further reading

• MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “sleamhainn”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎^[1], Stirling, →ISBN