cailleach
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word cailleach. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word cailleach, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say cailleach in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word cailleach you have here. The definition of the word cailleach will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofcailleach, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
cailleach
See also: Cailleach
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Scots, from Scottish Gaelic.
Noun
cailleach (plural cailleachs)
Irish
Etymology
From Old Irish caillech (“nun, elderly woman”), from caille (“veil”) (+ -ech), from Latin pallium.[1]
Pronunciation
- (Munster) IPA(key): /kəˈlʲax/[2]
- (Connacht) IPA(key): /ˈkal̠ʲəx/[3]
- (Ulster) IPA(key): /ˈkæl̠ʲa(x)/[4]
Noun
cailleach f (genitive singular caillí, nominative plural cailleacha)
- (historical) nun
- Synonyms: cailleach dhubh, cailleach Mhuire
- old woman, hag
- witch
- 2015 [2014], Will Collins, translated by Proinsias Mac a' Bhaird, edited by Maura McHugh, Amhrán na Mara (fiction; paperback), Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Howth, Dublin: Cartoon Saloon; Coiscéim, translation of Song of the Sea (in English), →ISBN, page 7:
- Macha, Cailleach na nUlchabhán
- (informal, usually derogatory) old dear, old girl
- (informal, offensive, derogatory) old bag, bitch, cow, dog, shrew
- stone weight, stone boat anchor
- alcove; (familiar) snuggery
- Synonym: cailleach shúgáin
Declension
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derived terms
- beacán na caillí m (“lady in the veil (type of mushroom)”)
- cailleach an ghiodail f (“pert hussy”)
- cailleach an uafáis f (“alarmist; scaremonger”)
- cailleach bhasctha f (“protruding object in ground”)
- cailleach bheag f (“bee orchid”)
- cailleach bhreac f (“larger spotted dog-fish”)
- cailleach bhréagach f (“spotted orchid”)
- cailleach chneasta f (“white witch”)
- cailleach chrainn f (“wood-louse”)
- cailleach dharach f (“oak stump”)
- cailleach dhearg f (“corn poppy”)
- cailleach dhubh f (“nun; cormorant”)
- cailleach feasa f (“sorceress, witch”)
- cailleach fhada f (“long-headed poppy”)
- cailleach fhuar f (“early purple orchid”)
- cailleach gheamaireachta f (“pantomime dame”)
- cailleach ghiúise f (“pine stump”)
- cailleach ghoile f (“tapeworm”)
- cailleach Mhuire f (“nun”)
- cailleach na gcearc f (“hag, witch”)
- cailleach na luatha f (“cricket”)
- cailleach na luatha buí f (“cinderella”)
- cailleach na mbréag f (“lying hussy”)
- cailleach oíche f (“owl; death watch beetle”)
- cailleach phiseogach f (“sorceress”)
- cailleach rua f (“loach”)
- cailleachas m (“haggishness”)
- cailleachúil (“haggish”, adj)
- codladh na Caillí Béarra m (“protracted sleep”)
- comhrá cailleach m (“old wives’ tales”)
- feoil na caillí f (“polyporus”)
- fia-chailleach f (“hag, witch”)
- galar scuab na caillí m (“witch's broom”)
- gas caillí Artach m (“northern rock-cress”)
- gas caillí duimhche m (“fringed rock-cress”)
- gas caillí giobach m (“hairy rock-cress”)
- hata caillí m (“witch's hat”)
- leigheas caillí m (“old woman's remedy”)
- méara na caillí f (“mermaid's glove”)
- peata caillí m (“pampered child”, literally “an old woman’s pet”)
- ruacán caillí m (“crone”)
- samhairle caillí m (“disagreeable hag”)
- scuab caillí f (“witch's broomstick”)
- seanchailleach f (“witch, hag”)
- smior chailleach f (“spinal marrow”)
- snaidhm chaillí f (“granny knot”)
- sparán na caillí mairbhe m (“egg-case of skate”)
Mutation
| radical | lenition | eclipsis |
|---|---|---|
| cailleach | chailleach | gcailleach |
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
References
- ^ Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “caillech”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
- ^ Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry [Phonetics of an Irish Dialect of Kerry] (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, § 261, page 133
- ^ Finck, F. N. (1899) Die araner mundart [The Aran Dialect] (in German), volume II, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 151
- ^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, § 223, page 83
Further reading
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “cailleach”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
- de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “cailleach”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
- “cailleach”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2025
- “cailleach”, in The National Terminology Database for Irish, Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge, DCU and Foras na Gaeilge, 2006–2025
Scots
Etymology
Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic cailleach, from Old Irish caillech, from caille (“veil”) + -ach.
Pronunciation
Noun
cailleach (plural cailleachs)
Descendants
References
- MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “cailleach”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Stirling, →ISBN
Scottish Gaelic
Etymology
From Old Irish caillech, from caille (“veil”) + -ach.
Pronunciation
Noun
cailleach f (genitive singular cailliche, plural cailleachan)
Derived terms
- Cailleach f (“the week in spring after “Gearran”, i.e. from 12th to 18th April”)
- cailleach bheag an earbaill f (“long-tailed tit”)
- cailleach-baic f (“in cutting peats, the outside peat in a bank”)
- cailleach-bhàn f (“snowy owl”)
- cailleach-chasach f (“cheslip; millipede”)
- cailleach-cheann-dubh f (“cole titmouse, cole; black cap”)
- cailleach-chòsach f (“cheslip”)
- cailleach-dhubh f (“nun; European shag, common shag”)
- cailleach-fhasgnaidh f (“corn fanner”)
- cailleach-fhraoich f (“a large sheaf of heather tied tightly together with ropes of the same material, used as a door to a sheep cot or similar building”)
- cailleach-oidhche f (“common owl; tawny owl; spiritless fellow; butterfly”)
- cailleach-oidhche gheal, cailleach-bhàn f (“white owl”)
- cailleach-oidhche-mhòr f (“eagle owl”)
- cailleach-spuinge f (“touchwood, soft tinder”)
- cailleach-uisge f (“water-woman, water-carlin; diseased potato containing only water”)
- cìochan nan cailleach marbha m (“foxglove”)
See also
Mutation
| radical | lenition |
|---|---|
| cailleach | chailleach |
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
References
- MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “cailleach”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Stirling, →ISBN