From Middle Irish innúar (“very cold”), from Old Irish an- (“very”) + úar (“cold”); later reinterpreted as a compound of fionn (“white”) + fuar
fionnuar (genitive singular masculine fhionnuair, plural fionnuara, comparative fionnuaire)
| Singular | Plural (m/f) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | Masculine | Feminine | (strong noun) | (weak noun) |
| Nominative | fionnuar | fhionnuar | fionnuara; fhionnuara² | |
| Vocative | fhionnuair | fionnuara | ||
| Genitive | fionnuaire | fionnuara | fionnuar | |
| Dative | fionnuar; fhionnuar¹ |
fhionnuar; fhionnuair (archaic) |
fionnuara; fhionnuara² | |
| Comparative | níos fionnuaire | |||
| Superlative | is fionnuaire | |||
¹ When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article.
² When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.
| Irish mutation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Radical | Lenition | Eclipsis |
| fionnuar | fhionnuar | bhfionnuar |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | ||