úath

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See also: uath, and uath-

Old Irish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *ɸowtus, from Proto-Indo-European *pew- (to fear).

Noun

úath ?

  1. fear, horror, terror
  2. a horrible or terrible thing
Inflection
Masculine u-stem
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative úath úathL úathae
Vocative úath úathL úathu
Accusative úathN úathL úathu
Genitive úathoH, úathaH úatho, úatha úathaeN
Dative úathL úathaib úathaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
  • H = triggers aspiration
  • L = triggers lenition
  • N = triggers nasalization
Derived terms
Descendants
  • Middle Irish: úath (horrible thing, horror)
  • Middle Irish: fúath (hatred)

Further reading

Etymology 2

Uncertain, multiple theories exist.[1] What is certain is that the term never originally meant "whitethorn".

  • Peter Schrijver believes the Ogam letter name is an extension of the meaning "fear", with the ogam letter originally denoting /ɸ/.
  • Damian McManus notes another etymology deriving this letter name from Ancient Greek ἰῶτα (iôta); this etymology supposes that the letter originally denoted /j/. McManus is hesitant to accept this due to the need to posit a loanword.[2] On the other hand, Deborah Hayden and David Stifter accept this etymology, but suggest Latin iōta as the immediate intermediary of the loan.

Noun

úath ?

  1. name of the Ogham letter (h)

Further reading

Etymology 3

From úathad.

Noun

úath ?

  1. a small number, a few
Descendants

Further reading

Mutation

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

References

  1. ^ Hayden, Deborah, Stifter, David (2022) “Ogam and Trees – OG(H)AM”, in Megan Kasten, editor, OG(H)AM – Harnessing digital technologies to transform understanding of ogham writing, from the 4th century to the 21st
  2. ^ * McManus, Damian (1991). A Guide to Ogam, Maynooth Monographs 4. Maynooth: An Sagart, p. 81. →ISBN.