Old Irish bláith (“soft, smooth”) from earlier mláith, from Proto-Celtic *mlātis (“soft, tender”), from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥h₂-ti-s ~ *ml̥h₁-téy-s, from *melh₂- (“to crush, grind”) + *-tis. Originally meant "ground soft".
bláith (genitive singular masculine bláith, genitive singular feminine bláithe, plural bláithe, comparative bláithe)
| singular | plural (m/f) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | masculine | feminine | (strong noun) | (weak noun) |
| nominative | bláith | bhláith | bláithe; bhláithe2 | |
| vocative | bhláith | bláithe | ||
| genitive | bláithe | bláithe | bláith | |
| dative | bláith; bhláith1 |
bhláith | bláithe; bhláithe2 | |
| Comparative | níos bláithe | |||
| Superlative | is bláithe | |||
1 When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article.
2 When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.
| radical | lenition | eclipsis |
|---|---|---|
| bláith | bhláith | mbláith |
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.