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Gael. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Gael, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Gael in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
Gael you have here. The definition of the word
Gael will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
Gael, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Irish Gael, alt. Gaol, from earlier Gaoidheal, cognate with Scottish Gaelic Gàidheal and Manx Gael, from Middle Irish Gaídel, from Old Irish Goídel (“Irishman”), a loanword from Old Welsh Guoidel (“wild man, warrior”) (also recorded as a personal name in the Book of Llandaff), from Proto-Brythonic *guɨðel (“savage, woodsman”), from Proto-Celtic *wēdelos (“savage, woodsman”), related to *wēdus (“wild”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- (“wood, wilderness”) (cf. Old English wāþ (“hunt”)). Doublet of Goidel, unrelated to Gaul or Gallia.
Medieval Irish traditions, including the Lebor Gabála Érenn, trace the origin of the Goídels to an eponymous ancestor, Goídel Glas, but this is no longer held to be the ultimate etymology of the word.
Pronunciation
Noun
Gael (plural Gaels)
- A member of an ethnic group in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, whose language is one that is Gaelic.
1911, G.K. Chesterton, The Ballad of the White Horse, Book II: The Gathering Of The Chiefs:For the great Gaels of Ireland
Are the men that God made mad,
For all their wars are merry,
And all their songs are sad.
Translations
Proper noun
Gael (plural Gaels)
- An unknown-gender given name.
References
Anagrams
Irish
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old Irish Goídel, from Old Welsh Guoidel (“wild man, warrior”) (compare Welsh Gwyddel (“Irishman”)), from Proto-Brythonic *guɨðel, from Proto-Celtic *wēdus (“wild”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- (“wood, wilderness”) (compare Old English wāþ (“hunt”)).
Replaced native terms féni (“class of landed Irish freemen”) and fénechas (“matters pertaining to the féni”), though these words survive as féine and féineachas, respectively, and derive ultimately from the same root.
Pronunciation
Noun
Gael m (genitive singular Gaeil, nominative plural Gaeil)
- Gael, Gaelic person
- (~ de chuid na hAlban) (Scottish) Highlander
- Synonyms: duine as an nGàidhealtachd, Híleantóir
Declension
Derived terms
Mutation
Irish mutation
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Radical
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Lenition
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Eclipsis
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Gael
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Ghael
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nGael
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Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
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References
Further reading
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “Gael”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “Goídel”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
- Entries containing “Gael” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
- Entries containing “Gael” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.
Spanish
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡaˈel/
- Rhymes: -el
- Syllabification: Ga‧el
Proper noun
Gael m
- a male given name