ucht

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish ucht (“breast”), from Proto-Celtic *ɸextus, from Proto-Indo-European *peg- (“breast”) (compare Latin pectus).

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /ʊxt̪ˠ/
• (Connacht) IPA^(key): /ɔxt̪ˠ/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ʌxt̪ˠ/

Noun

ucht m (genitive singular uchta, nominative plural uchtanna)

1. chest
2. breast, bosom
3. lap

Declension

Declension of ucht

Third declension

Bare forms: Case Singular Plural Nominative ucht uchtanna Vocative a ucht a uchtanna Genitive uchta uchtanna Dative ucht uchtanna

Forms with the definite article: Case Singular Plural Nominative an t-ucht na huchtanna Genitive an uchta na n-uchtanna Dative leis an ucht don ucht leis na huchtanna

Derived terms

• as ucht (“for the sake of, on account of, on behalf of”)
• in ucht (“facing, in face of”)
• le hucht (“in front of, before, in anticipation of”)
• móruchtúil (“stout-hearted, courageous”)
• uchtach (“breastplate; pectoral; chest-protector, plastron”)
• uchtach (“pectoral”)
• uchtaigh (“adopt”, verb)
• uchtán (“load carried between arms and chest, armful; lapful”)
• uchtbhalla (“parapet”)
• uchtbharr (“parapet”)
• uchtbhorrthóir (“chest-expander”)
• uchtdruilire (“breast-drill”)
• uchtleanbh (“adopted child”)
• uchtmhac (“adopted son”)
• uchtóg (“armful; small heap; rise (in ground); bump (in road)”)
• uchtphláta (“breastplate”)
• uchtráille (“breastwork”)
• uchtúil (“full-chested; courageous”)

 

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
ucht	n-ucht	hucht	t-ucht
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

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

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *ɸuxtu, of uncertain further etymology. It can be related to Latin pectus (“breast”), but it requires that the Celtic form contain an irregular assimilation of the first vowel from *e to *u. Alternatively, it can be connected to Latvian pups (“teat, nipple”), but Matasović declares this less probable.

Noun

ucht n or m

1. breast, bosom

Declension

Neuter u-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	uchtN	uchtL	ochtL, ochta
Vocative	uchtN	uchtL	ucht
Accusative	uchtN	uchtL	ucht
Genitive	ochtoH, ochtaH	ochtoN, ochtaN	ochtN
Dative	uchtL	ochtaib	ochtaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Masculine u-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ucht	uchtL	ochtae
Vocative	ucht	uchtL	uchtu
Accusative	uchtN	uchtL	uchtu
Genitive	ochtoH, ochtaH	ochto, ochta	ochtaeN
Dative	uchtL	ochtaib	ochtaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Middle Irish: ucht
  • Irish: ucht
  • Manx: ught
  • Scottish Gaelic: uchd

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
ucht (pronounced with /h/ in h-prothesis environments)	unchanged	n-ucht
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

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