59
§§ 139, 140. By contraction we get forms such as ɛəlɔim, ‘I escape’, which is a new formation from the infin. ɛəlɔ꞉, M.Ir. élud, éláim. klɔiçə, Lɔi may be heard by the side of kləiçə, Ləi for kliçə, ‘game’, Ly꞉, ‘to lie’.
§ 150. Occasionally we find ɔ꞉i as a diphthong, e.g. dɔ꞉i, ‘way’, O.Ir. dóig; dɔ꞉iu꞉lʹ, ‘handsome’, Di. dóigheamhail; dʹɛəlɔ꞉i ʃə, ‘he escaped’, infin. ɛəlɔ꞉.
6. uə.
§ 151. The first element of this diphthong is the open u described in § 44. uə usually represents O.Ir. ua < ō, e.g. in kruəχ, ‘stack’, M.Ir. crúach; kuəχ, ‘coil, ringlet, cuckoo’, M.Ir. cúach; kuən, ‘harbour’, M.Ir. cúan; Luə, ‘early’, M.Ir. lúath; Luəχ, ‘price’, O.Ir. lúach; Luəskαnαχ, ‘speedy’, Di. luascánach; ruəgʹəm, ‘I put to flight’, M.Ir. ruaic; sal·χuəχ, ‘violet’, Di. sail-chuach; suən, ‘a doze, sleep’, M.Ir. súan; truə, ‘wretched’, O.Ir. trúag; tuə, ‘axe’, M.Ir. tuag; tuərəstəl, ‘wages’, M.Ir. tuarustul; uəlαχ, ‘burden’, M.Ir. ualach. Note also the contracted forms kruəχən, ‘hardening’ < cruadhachan; kruəgy꞉, ‘liver’ (§ 415). The first element of this diphthong seems to have been very open throughout Ireland as Irish words containing the sound are spelt in English with oa, e.g. Croagh Patrick, bórach = buarach, Straoughter = Srath-uachtar, Oughterard &c. Cp. also bóchaill for buachaill Sg. Fearn. p. 101.
7. ui.
§ 152. ui contains the same u as uə and represents O.Ir, ui, uai. Examples—buiLʹtʹαχəs, ‘summer grazing in the mountains’, Meyer búaltechas, buiLʹtʹə, ‘a summer pasture’; buiLʹtʹi꞉nʹ, ‘the striking wattle on a flail’, Di. buailtín; buirʹuw, ‘trouble’, M.Ir. búadred, buaidred; bui, ‘obligation’, O.Ir. búaid; fuiʃkʹnʹuw, ‘shudder’ (?); gluiʃ, ‘move’, M.Ir. gluaisim; grui, ‘check’, Di. gruaidh < O.Ir. gruad; hui, ‘north’, M.Ir. thuaid; krui, ‘hard’, M.Ir. crúaid; Lui, ‘ashes’, M.Ir. luaith (acc.); Luiə, ‘lead’, M.Ir. luaide; skuidʹ, ‘cow-dung’; uiLʹ, ‘wild talk’, Di. uaill, M.Ir. uall. ui arises by contraction in klũiʃtʹə, ‘feathered, fledged’, < clúmhaiste; Luiαχt, ‘benefit’, M.Ir. logidecht. ui frequently becomes ɔə, o̤ə in χuəli꞉, ‘heard’; χuə, ‘went’.
The cases where u꞉ occurs for ui have been enumerated in § 46. Forms like kũ꞉i꞉, ‘grief, sorrow’, do not belong here, as they are dissyllables.