13
‘I forbid’, Meyer cross, crossaim; ɔsNə, ‘sigh’, O.Ir. osnad; tɔst, ‘silence’, M.Ir. tost; trɔsk, ‘cod’, Di. trosc. But Lo̤sidʹ, ‘a shallow wooden vessel’ (not generally known), O.Ir. lossat; Lo̤skəN, ‘toad’, M.Ir. loscann doubtless owing to the preceding L.
- h < th, e.g. kɔhuw, ‘to feed’, Meyer cothaigim; gɔhαnαχ, ‘touchy’, Di. gothán; rɔhə, ‘wheel’, Wi. roth. But o̤ before χ < h in mo̤χuw, ‘springing’ (cp. § 333).
ɔ only occurs very exceptionally before other non-palatal sounds, e.g. bɔbwirʹαχt, ‘roguery’, formed on Engl. ‘bob’; gɔnαn, ‘canine tooth’, formed from gonaim (?); kɔpαn, ‘cup’ < Engl.; kɔpɔg, ‘dock’, Meyer coppóc.
§ 24. ɔ also occurs before palatal consonants, but chiefly when the palatal is an essential part of the root-syllable and not when it only serves as a flexional element, e.g. kɔrʹkʹə, ‘oats’, Meyer coirce; Lɔtʹαχ, ‘harmful, injurious’, M.Ir. loitim; ɔʃirʹ, ‘oyster’, Macbain oisir, Di. oisre; ɔtʹirʹ, ‘turf-bank’, Di. oitir; rɔʃuw, ‘rip up’, O’R. roiseadh; tɔtʹ, ‘smoke’, Di. toit, Atk. tutt; gɔrʹuw, ‘to heat, warm’, Di. goruw (cp. the proverb əs fʹα꞉r ə veLʹtʹ ə hαNuw Nα n ꬶrui ə ꬶɔrʹuw, ‘it is better to tighten the belt than to burn one’s cheek’). In other cases ɔ before a palatal consonant has been prevented from becoming ï, i by the rest of the paradigm, e.g. tɔlʹ, ‘will’, O.Ir. tol; skɔlʹ, ‘school’, M.Ir. scol; kɔʃə, gen. sing. of kɔs, ‘foot’, kɔʃiαχt, ‘walking’, Di. coisidheacht; krɔʃi꞉nʹ, ‘stick with curved handle’, Di. croisín < cros. But in the majority of monosyllables we find ï, i, cp. brɔk, ‘badger’, gen. sing. brikʹ and § 98.
§ 25. In § 9 we saw that a number of forms containing o in O.Ir. at the present day have α. The converse is also true and some speakers go very far in substituting ɔ for α. This is principally the case in the neighbourhood of l, L (cp. for Monaghan G. J. 1896 p. 146 col. 1) and J. H. has ɔ in the following:—bɔluw, ‘dumb’, M.Ir. balb; gɔlər, ‘disease’, O.Ir. galar; Lɔsuw, ‘to light, kindle’, M.Ir. lassaim, Lɔsirʹ, ‘blaze’, M.Ir. lassair; mɔlərt’, ‘exchange’, M.Ir. malairt; mɔli꞉, ‘brow, incline’, O.Ir. mala; sɔləN, ‘salt’, O.Ir. saland; bɔlkuw beside bαlkuw, ‘futuere’, Di. balcaim, Meyer balccim, cp. bo̤N bαlky꞉, ‘a collection made to pay for whiskey &c. at a gathering or dance on the first Sunday after a wedding’. From younger people one hears tɔluw, ‘land’, O.Ir. talam; hɔL, ‘over yonder’, əNɔL, ‘hither’, O.Ir. tall, anall; smɔlkuw, ‘to smoke vigorously’, Di.
