w is also the eclipsed form of initial f, e.g. ə wα꞉Nʹʃə = dha bhfaghainnse; ə wo̤gəs də, ‘near to’, = i bhfogus. Nʹi꞉ wi꞉ mʹə, ‘I shall not get’, cp. M.Ir. fúigbe, probably owes its w to the preterite Nʹi꞉ wuirʹ, for which see § 199, and cp. ĩ꞉ç(ə) i꞉r, ‘a cold night’. But this is not certain as I have no exact parallel.
§ 196. Except when joining with a vowel and becoming vocalised (§§ 40, 48) w is the regular representative of O.Ir. intervocalic m, b before a, o, u, e.g. bʹi꞉wiəNtə, ‘slyly, mischievous’, Meyer bibdaide; dʹəwælʹ, ‘want, lack’, O.Ir. dígbail; dʹĩ꞉wi꞉nʹ, ‘single, unmarried’, M.Ir. dímain; ĩ꞉wαiç, ‘image’, M.Ir. imaig; kʹlʹiəwαn, ‘cradle’, Meyer cliabán; krũwɔg, ‘maggot’, Di. crumhóg; krα̃꞉wə, ‘bones’, M.Ir. cnáma; Lα̃꞉wαχ, ‘firing’, Di. lámhach; Lα̃꞉wəkαn, ‘moving on all fours’, Di. lámhacán; Nα̃꞉widʹ, ‘enemy’, O.Ir. námait (acc.); rα꞉wəLʹi꞉, ‘raving, being in a state of delirium’, Di. rámhailligh; sNα꞉wəm, ‘I swim’, Di. snámhaim; ʃkʹrʹi꞉wəm, ‘I write’, O.Ir. scríbaim; ʃNʹi꞉wəm, ‘I spin’, Di. sníomhaim, M.Ir. sním; tα꞉wαχt, ‘industry’, Di. tábhacht. Between u(꞉) and α w drops out, e.g. duαn, ‘hook, kidney’, Di. dubhán, duαn αLy꞉, ‘spider’; duαχ, ‘ink’, Di. dubhach; suαχ, ‘merry’, M.Ir. subach. bα꞉wən, ‘enclosure’, is obscure. Dinneen writes bádhbhdhún, Meyer bádún, O’Brien bábhún. In Lα꞉ lʹ ·α꞉wɛgʹə, ‘St Swithin’s day’, we have w for v. The saint is Dabeoc who is commemorated on July 24. It may be noted that Ware speaks of “lectulus vel circulus Abogi”.
§ 197. Post-consonantic w disappears in αhαsαn, ‘reviling’, < Di. achmhusan < Meyer athchomsan; α꞉nṟi, ‘broth’, M.Ir. enbruthe; fα꞉gælʹ, ‘to leave’, M.Ir. fácbáil; ʃaχtinʹ, ‘week’, M.Ir. sechtmain (acc.), I am given to understand that further north the form ʃαχtu꞉nʹ occurs; tα꞉rLαχ, ‘Toirdhealbhach’; u꞉dəlαn, ‘swivel’, O.Ir. utmall. On the other hand w is retained in aχwirʹkʹ, ‘heat in horses’, Di. eachmairt; α꞉rwαχ, ‘slaughter’, árbhach; αswi꞉, ‘want’, M.Ir. esbuid, cp. Pedersen p. 164; bʹɛəlwαχ, ‘bridle-bit’, Meyer bélbach; fʹjɔ꞉lwαχi꞉, ‘different kinds of meat’, Di. feólmhach, feólbhach; kʹαrwαχ, ‘gamester’, Di. cearrbhach; tʹαswαχ, ‘heat’, Di. teasbhach.
§ 198. For w as the second element of uw in syllables with chief and secondary stress see §§ 47, 49.
§ 199. In a few instances we find w prefixed to words beginning with u, e.g. wuidʹ, ‘from you’, O.Ir. úait, wuə, w⅄ə, ‘from him’, O.Ir. úad; Nʹi꞉ wuirʹ = ní fhuair where the w seems
