gnúis

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See also: gnùis

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish gnúis.

Pronunciation

Noun

gnúis f (genitive singular gnúise, nominative plural gnúiseanna or núise)

  1. face (front part of head), visage, countenance
    Synonyms: aghaidh, éadan
  2. face (facial expression)
    Synonym: dreach
  3. (specifically) a wry face or expression
  4. mien
    gnúis mhaorgaa noble or lofty mien

Declension

Declension of gnúis (second declension)
bare forms
case singular plural
nominative gnúis gnúisa
vocative a ghnúis a ghnúisa
genitive gnúise gnúis
dative gnúis gnúisa
forms with the definite article
case singular plural
nominative an ghnúis na gnúisa
genitive na gnúise na ngnúis
dative leis an ngnúis
don ghnúis
leis na gnúisa

Mutation

Mutated forms of gnúis
radical lenition eclipsis
gnúis ghnúis ngnúis

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

Further reading

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *gnūstis, whence also Middle Welsh gnis (jaw, chin, face), further origins unclear. Maybe connected to giun (mouth).[1] MacBain connects it with Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (to know).[2]

Pronunciation

Noun

gnúis f (genitive gnúsa)

  1. face (front part of head)
    • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 15a20
      Ní foí⟨l⟩sitis déicsin a gnúsa íar mbid dó oc accaldim Dé, oc tindnacul recto dó.
      They would not have endured the beholding of his face after he had been conversing with God, at the bestowing of the law to him.

Declension

Feminine i-stem
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative gnúis gnúisL gnúisiH
Vocative gnúis gnúisL gnúisiH
Accusative gnúisN gnúisL gnúisiH
Genitive gnúsoH, gnúsaH gnúsoH, gnúsaH gnúiseN
Dative gnúisL gnúisib gnúisib
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
  • H = triggers aspiration
  • L = triggers lenition
  • N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

  • Irish: gnúis
  • Scottish Gaelic: gnùis
  • Manx: grooish

Mutation

Mutation of gnúis
radical lenition nasalization
gnúis gnúis
pronounced with /ɣ(ʲ)-/
ngnúis

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

References

  1. ^ Zair, Nicholas (2012) The reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European laryngeals in Celtic, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 126
  2. ^ MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “gnúis”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Stirling, →ISBN, page 200

Further reading