From Proto-Celtic *an- (“un-”) + *wids (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see”)). Ainb was an irregular consonant-stem adjective during the eighth century, but by the ninth-century Milan glosses it had become an i-stem.
ainb
The inflection as attested in the Milan glosses was:
i-stem | |||
---|---|---|---|
Singular | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
Nominative | ainb | ainb | ainb |
Vocative | ainb | ||
Accusative | ainb | ainb | |
Genitive | ainb | ainbe | ainb |
Dative | ainb | ainb | ainb |
Plural | Masculine | Feminine/neuter | |
Nominative | ainbi | ainbi | |
Vocative | ainbi | ||
Accusative | ainbi | ||
Genitive | ainb* ainbe | ||
Dative | ainbib | ||
Notes | *not when substantivized |
However, the irregular genitive singular ainbfeth is also attested in Bretha Nemed law tracts. It has also appeared, corrupted, in the form anfeich.
Old Irish mutation | ||
---|---|---|
Radical | Lenition | Nasalization |
ainb (pronounced with /h/ in h-prothesis environments) |
unchanged | n-ainb |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |