biáil

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See also: biail

Old Irish

FWOTD – 13 June 2023

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *biyatlis, from the root of *binati (whence benaid). Cognate with Welsh bwyell.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key):

Noun

bïáil m (genitive béla)

axe, hatchet
- c. 800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 112^b12
  Is déniu ad·ciam húa ṡúlib risíu ro·cloammar in fogur húa chluasaib, ut est is toísigiu ad·ciam teilciud in béla resíu ro·cloammar a guth sidi.
  We see more quickly with the eyes before we hear the sound with the ears, ut est we see the throwing of the axe sooner before we hear the sound of this.
- c. 850-875, Turin Glosses and Scholia on St Mark, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 484–94, Tur. 106
  .i. do·cer in biail dia samthig issa mmuir 7 fo·caird Eleseus a samthig inna diad 7 do·luid in biail a rithissi ar chenn in samthige co mboi impe.
  That is, the ax-head fell from its handle into the sea and Elisha flung its handle after it and the ax-head came again to meet the handle and remained around it.

Inflection

Masculine i-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	biáil	biáil^L	belai^H
Vocative	biáil	biáil^L	belai^H
Accusative	biáil^N	biáil^L	belai^H
Genitive	belo^H, bela^H	belo^H, bela^H	belae^N
Dative	biáil^L	belaib	belaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: ^H = triggers aspiration ^L = triggers lenition ^N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

Middle Irish: bíail
- Irish: biail

Mutation

Mutation of *biáil*
radical	lenition	nasalization
biáil	biáil pronounced with /β(ʲ)-/	mbiáil

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

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

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