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scéal. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
scéal, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
scéal in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
scéal you have here. The definition of the word
scéal will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
scéal, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Irish
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old Irish scél (compare Scottish Gaelic sgeul, Manx skeeal), from Proto-Celtic *skʷetlom (compare Welsh chwedl, a loanword from Goidelic), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to say”).
Pronunciation
Noun
scéal m (genitive singular scéil, nominative plural scéalta or scéala)
- story, tale
Is scéal fada é.- It's a long story.
Sin scéal eile.- That's another story.
- piece of news, piece of information, report
Declension
In the sense “story, tale”:
In the sense “piece of news/information”:
The plural scéala (“news”) can also be perceived as a singular mass noun and is so treated by Ó Dónaill’s dictionary.
Derived terms
References
Further reading
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “scél”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
- “scéal”, in Historical Irish Corpus, 1600–1926, Royal Irish Academy
- Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “scéal”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 604
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “scéal”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN