AN ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY
OF
THE GAELIC LANGUAGE
.
A
a, vocative particle, Ir. a, O. Ir. á,a; W., Corn., Br. a; Lat. o; Gr. ὦ
a, his, her, Ir., a, O. Ir. á, ái (accented), W. ei, Br. e, Celtic esjo, esjâs; Skr. gen. asyá, asyâs. The gen. pl. is an, their, O. Ir. a n-, Celtic esjon (Stokes gives esan=Skr. gem. gen. pl. âsâm).
a, who, that (rel. pron.). In G. this is merely the verbal particle do of past time, used also to explain the aspiration of the future rel. sentence. Oblique cases are done by an, am (for san, sam, O. Ir. san, sam), the neut. of art. used as rel. (cf. Eng. that). The rel. locative is sometimes done by the prep. an, am: "An coire am bi na caoraich" (1776 Collection, p. 112).
a, out of, ex: see as.
a, from, in the adverbs a nall, a nìos, a nuas, a null; Ir., O. Ir. an-, as anuas, etc.; Celtic a(p)ona, a derivative from I. E. apo, whence Lat. ab, Gr. ἀπó; Ger. von, from, is the exact equivalent of the Celtic. The a before sìos and suas is due to analogy with a nìos, a nuas.
a, in to, as in a bhàn, a bhos, a nis, a stigh, a steach, is the prep. an, in, into, q.v.
a, as in a rìs, &c., and before verbs, is the prep. do, q.v.
ab, or ab ab, fie! The Ir. ab ab, M. Ir. abb is an interjection of defiance, obo, of wonder; cf. Lat. babæ, Gr. βαβαί. Hence doubtless M'A.'s abab, dirt.
aba, abbot, Ir. ab, O. Ir. abb, W. abad; from Lat. abbas, abbatis, whence also Eng. abbot. Hence abaid, abbey. M. Ir. apdaine, abbacy, in M. G. "abbey lands", whence placenames Appin, older Abbathania (1310), Abthein (1220), "abbey lands".
1
