-ach

-ach

1. (added to possessive nouns) our (inclusive)

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /əx/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ax/, /ah/, /a/

From Old Irish -ach, from Proto-Celtic *-ākos, from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂kos, *-eh₂ḱos, from a-stem suffix *-eh₂ + adjectival suffix *-kos, *-ḱos; compare Welsh -og. Doublet of -óg.

• -each (slender form)

-ach m

1. Forms nouns from other nouns and adjectives with the sense of ‘person or thing connected or involved with, belonging to, having’.

   ‎Éire (“Ireland”) + ‎-ach → ‎Éireannach (“Irish (person)”)

   ‎Sasana (“England”) + ‎-ach → ‎Sasanach (“English (person)”)

2. Forms adjectives from other nouns and adjectives with the sense of ‘connected or involved with, belonging to, having’.

   ‎bunús (“basis”) + ‎-ach → ‎bunúsach (“basic”)

   ‎fearg (“anger”) + ‎-ach → ‎feargach (“angry”)

   ‎Éire (“Ireland”) + ‎-ach → ‎Éireannach (“Irish”)

   ‎Sasana (“England”) + ‎-ach → ‎Sasanach (“English”)

For nouns:

For adjectives:

• -achán
• -achas

From Old Irish -ach, from Proto-Celtic *-Vkos (V standing for any vowel), the genitive singular ending of certain nouns ending in *-Vxs.

-ach

2. forms the genitive singular of some fifth-declension nouns

From Old Irish -ach, from Proto-Celtic *-ākos, from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂kos, *-eh₂ḱos, from a-stem suffix *-eh₂- + adjectival suffix *-kos, *-ḱos. Doublet of -óc.

• IPA^(key): /əx/

-ach

1. Forms adjectives meaning "related to, having, characterised by, prone to".
2. Forms nouns meaning "person or thing connected or involved with, belonging to, having".

After a palatalised consonant, the suffix becomes -ech.

• Irish: -ach
• Manx: -agh
• Scottish Gaelic: -ach

From Proto-Brythonic *-ox, with the vowel altered by influence from -af.

-ach

1. forms a comparative adjective

From Proto-Celtic *-ākos, from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂kos, *-eh₂ḱos, from a-stem suffix *-eh₂- + adjectival suffix *-kos, *-ḱos. Doublet of -óc.

Compare Latin -ācus, -icus.

• IPA^(key): /ax/

-ach

1. Forms adjectives meaning "related to, having, characterised by, prone to".
2. Forms nouns meaning "person or thing connected or involved with, belonging to, having".

After a palatalised consonant, the suffix becomes -ech.

Adjective:

Noun:

• Middle Irish: -ach
  • Irish: -ach
  • Manx: -agh
  • Scottish Gaelic: -ach

• Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940) D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, § 347; reprinted 2017

• -each (slender form)

From Old Irish -ach, from Proto-Celtic *-ākos, from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂kos, *-eh₂ḱos, from a-stem suffix *-eh₂- + adjectival suffix *-kos, *-ḱos; compare Welsh -og. Doublet of -ag.

• IPA^(key):

-ach (plural -aich or -aichean)

1. Forming nouns from nouns and adjectives with the sense of ‘person or thing connected or involved with, belonging to, having’.

• IPA^(key): /aχ/

From Middle Welsh -ach, from Proto-Brythonic *-ox, with the vowel altered by influence from -af.

-ach

2. Forms a comparative adjective.

   ‎ifanc (“young”) + ‎-ach → ‎ifancach (“younger”)

   ‎pwysig (“important”) + ‎-ach → ‎pwysicach (“more important”)

   ‎tlawd (“poor”) + ‎-ach → ‎tlotach (“poorer”)

Triggers fortition of the final consonant of the adjectival stem.

• -iach

-ach

2. pejorative suffix

   ‎cor (“dwarf”) + ‎-ach → ‎corrach (“dwarf, gnome”)

   ‎cawl (“soup”) + ‎-ach → ‎cawlach (“mess, hotchpotch”)

   ‎dillad (“clothes”) + ‎-ach → ‎dilladach (“old clothes, worthless clothing”)

-ach f

2. suffix forming abstract nouns and some verbnouns

   ‎cyfrin (“privy, cryptic”) + ‎-ach → ‎cyfrinach (“secret”)

   ‎cyfaill (“friend”) + ‎-ach → ‎cyfeillach (“fellowship, companionship”)

   ‎clinc (“clink, tinkle”) + ‎tarddu (“emerge, erupt”) + ‎-ach → ‎clindarddarch (“crackling; to crackle”)

R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “-ach”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies