# Graiméar na Gaedhilge/Part II Chapter II

CHAPTER II.
The Noun.
I. GENDER.
41. There are only two genders in Irish, the masculine and the feminine.
The gender of most Irish nouns may be learned by the application of a few general rules.
MASCULINE NOUNS.
42. (a) Names of males are masculine: as fear, a man; flaiṫ, a prince; aṫair, a father; coileaċ, a cock.
(b) The names of occupations, offices, &c., peculiar to men, are masculine: as ollaṁ, a doctor; file, a poet; bárd, a bard; breiṫeaṁ, a judge; saiġidiúir, a soldier.
(c) Personal agents ending in óir, aire, uiḋe (or aiḋe, oiḋe), or aċ are masculine: as sgeuluiḋe, a story-teller; bádóir, a boatman.
(d) Diminutives ending in án, and all abstract nouns ending in as or eas, are masculine—e.g.:
    árdán, a hillock.maiṫeas, goodness.
(e) The diminutives ending in ín are usually said to be of the same gender as the noun from which they are derived. Notwithstanding this rule they seem to be all masculine. Cailín, a girl, is masculine, i.e. it suffers the same initial changes as a masculine noun, but the pronoun referring to it is feminine. She is a fine girl, Is breáġ an cailín í (not é).
(f) Many nouns which end in a consonant or two consonants preceded by a broad vowel are masculine: as ball, a limb; luaċ, a price; crann, a tree &c.
Exceptions:—(1) All words of two or more syllables ending in aċt or óg.
​(2) A large number of nouns ending in a broad consonant are feminine. A very full list of commonly used feminine nouns ending in a broad consonant will be found in Appendix II.
FEMININE NOUNS.
43. (a) Names of females and designations of females are feminine: bean, a woman; cearc, a hen; máṫair, a mother; inġean, a daughter.
(b) The names of countries and rivers are feminine: as Éire, Ireland; an Life, the Liffey; an Ḃearḃa, the Barrow.
(c) Words of two or more syllables ending in aċt or in óg are feminine: as fuiseóg, a lark; driseóg, a briar; milseaċt, sweetness; leaṁnaċt, new-milk.
(d) All abstract nouns formed from the genitive singular feminine of adjectives are feminine: as áirde, height—from árd, high; áilne, beauty—from áluinn, beautiful; daille, blindness—from dall, blind.
(e) Nouns ending in a consonant or two consonants preceded by a slender vowel, are feminine: as tír, country; onóir, honour; uair, an hour; súil, an eye.
Exceptions:—(1) Personal nouns ending in óir. (2) Diminutives in ín. (3) Names of males, as aṫair, a father; buaċaill, a boy. (4) Also the following nouns:—buaiḋ, a victory; druim, the back; ainm, a name; greim, a piece; geit, a fright, a start; and foclóir, dictionary, vocabulary.
II. CASE.
44. In Irish there are five cases—the Nominative, Accusative, Genitive, Dative, and Vocative.
The Nominative case in Irish corresponds to the English nominative when the subject of a verb.
The Accusative corresponds to the English objective case when governed by a transitive verb. The accusative case of every noun in modern Irish has the same form as the nominative, and suffers the same initial changes as regards aspiration and eclipsis.
The Genitive case corresponds to the English possessive case. English nouns in the possessive case or in the objective case, preceded by the preposition "of," are usually translated into Irish by the genitive case.
The Dative case is the case governed by prepositions.
The Vocative corresponds to the English nominative of address. It is always used in addressing a person or persons. It is preceded by the sign a, although "O" may not appear before the English word; but this a is not usually pronounced before a vowel or ḟ.
RULES FOR THE FORMATION OF THE CASES.
N.B.—These rules apply to all the declensions.
45. The Nominative case singular is always the simple form of the noun.
​46. The Dative case singular is the same as the nominative singular, except (1) in the 2nd declension, when the noun ends in a broad consonant; (2) in most of the nouns of the 5th declension.
47. The Vocative case singular is always the same as the nominative singular, except in the 1st declension, in which it is like the genitive singular.
48. Whenever the nominative plural is formed by the addition of te, ta, anna, aċa, í or iḋe, &c., it is called a strong nominative plural. Strong plurals are usually found with nouns whose nominative singular ends in a liquid.
| Those ending in | l or n | generally take | ta or te. |
| „ | m or s | „ | anna. |
| „ | r | „ | aċa. |
The Genitive Plural.
49. (1) The genitive plural in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd declensions is like the nominative singular, except strong plurals, and a few nouns which drop the i of the nominative singular, as súil, an eye, gen. pl. súl.
(2) In the 4th declension, and in the case of nearly all strong plurals, the genitive plural is like the nominative plural.
(3) In the 5th declension the genitive plural is like the genitive singular.
The Dative Plural.
(1) When the nominative plural ends in a or a consonant, the dative plural ends in aiḃ.
(2) When the nominative plural ends in e, the dative plural is formed by changing the e into iḃ.
(3) When the nominative plural ends in í, the dative plural is formed by adding ḃ.
The termination of the dative plural is not always used in the spoken language.
Vocative Plural.
51. (1) When the dative plural ends in aiḃ, the vocative plural is formed by dropping the iḃ of the dative.
(2) In all other cases it is like the nominative plural.
III. The Declensions.
52. The number of declensions is not quite settled: it is very much a matter of convenience. Five is the number usually reckoned.
The declensions are known by the inflection of the genitive singular.
THE FIRST DECLENSION.
53. All the nouns of the first declension are masculine, and end in a broad consonant.
All masculine nouns ending in a broad consonant are not of the first declension.
54. The genitive singular is formed by attenuating the nominative. In most nouns of the 1st declension this is done by simply placing an i after the last broad vowel of the nominative.
Example.
| 55. | maor, a steward. | maor, a steward. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | maor | maoir |
| Gen. | maoir | maor |
| Dat. | maor | maoraiḃ |
| Voc. | a ṁaoir | a ṁaora |
56. In words of more than one syllable, if the nominative ends in aċ or eaċ, the genitive singular is formed by changing aċ or eaċ into aiġ or iġ respectively. With a few exceptions, the nominative plural of these nouns is like the genitive singular. The other cases are quite regular.
In monosyllables ċ is not changed into ġ; as bruaċ, a brink, gen. bruaiċ.
N.B.—In all declensions in words of more than one syllable aċ and eaċ, when attenuated, become aiġ and iġ; and aiġ and iġ when made broad become aċ and eaċ. See dat. pl. of marcaċ and coileaċ.
Examples.
| 57. | marcaċ, a horseman. | marcaċ, a horseman. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | marcaċ | marcaiġ |
| Gen. | marcaiġ | marcaċ |
| Dat. | marcaċ | marcaċaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ṁarcaiġ | a ṁarcaċa |
N.B.—The majority of nouns in aċ belonging to this declension are declined like marcaċ.
| 58. | ualaċ, a load, burden. | ualaċ, a load, burden. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | ualaċ | ualaiġe |
| Gen. | ualaiġ | ualaċ |
| Dat. | ualaċ | ualaiġiḃ |
| Voc. | a ualaiġ | a ualaiġe |
mullaċ, a summit; eudaċ, cloth; bealaċ, a path, a way; órlaċ, an inch; and aonaċ, a fair, are declined like ualaċ. Aonaċ has nom. pl. aonaiġe or aontaiġe.
| 59. | coileaċ, a cock. | coileaċ, a cock. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | coileaċ | coiliġ |
| Gen. | coiliġ | coileaċ |
| Dat. | coileaċ | coileaċaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ċoiliġ | a ċoileaċa |
60. Besides the above simple method of forming the genitive singular of most nouns of this declension, there are also the following modifications of the vowels of the nominative singular:—
| Change | eu or éa | in nom. sing. | | into | éi | in gen. sing. |
| „ | ia | „ | | „ | éi | „ |
| „ | o (short) | „ | | „ | ui | „ |
| io or ea | io or ea | „ | usually | „ | i | „ |
All the other cases of these nouns are formed in accordance with the rules given above.
Examples of Vowel-changes in Genitive Singular.
| 61. | eun, a bird. | eun, a bird. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | eun | éin |
| Gen. | éin | eun |
| Dat. | eun | eunaiḃ |
| Voc. | a éin | a euna |
| 62. | Fear, a man. | Fear, a man. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | fear | fir |
| Gen. | fir | fear |
| Dat. | fear | fearaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ḟir | a ḟeara |
N.B.—The gen. of oileán in island is oileáin; of féar, grass, féir; and of fear, a man, fir.
| 63. | Cnoc, a hill. | Cnoc, a hill. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | cnoc | cnuic |
| Gen. | cnuic | cnoc |
| Dat. | cnoc | cnocaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ċnuic | a ċnoca |
64. The following nouns change ea into ei in genitive singular:—leanḃ, a child; neart, strength; cneas, skin; and ceart, right, justice. (Cnis and cirt are sometimes found as the genitives of cneas and ceart).
Irregular Genitive Singular.
| mac, a son | has | genitive | mic |
| biaḋ, food, | „ | „ | bíḋ |
| rian, a track, | „ | „ | riain |
| srian, a bridle, | „ | „ | sriain |
| Brian, Bernard, Brian | Brian, Bernard, Brian | „ | Briain |
Neaċ, a person; and éinne, aonne (or aonneaċ), anybody, are indeclinable.
65. Some nouns of this declension form their nominative plural by adding e.
| NOUN. | GENITIVE SING. | NOM. PLURAL. | NOM. PLURAL. |
| aonaċ, a fair | aonaiġ | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | aontaiġe aonaiġe |
| doras, a door | dorais | dorais | doirse |
| éigeas, a learned man | éigis | éigis | éigse |
| aingeal, an angel | aingil | aingil | aingle |
| bóṫar, a road | bóṫair | bóṫair | bóiṫre |
| madraḋ or (madaḋ), a dog | madraiḋ | madraiḋ | madraiḋe |
| slaḃraḋ, a chain | slaḃraiḋ | slaḃraiḋ | slaḃraiḋe |
| margaḋ, a market | margaiḋ | margaiḋ | margaiḋe |
66. The following nouns take a in nominative plural:—peann, a pen; seod, a jewel; slán, a surety; cneas, skin; meacan, a carrot or parsnip; deor, a tear; caor, a berry; smeur, a blackberry; uḃall, an apple (pl. uḃla); focal (pl. focail or focla); fiaċ, a debt (fiaċ, pl. féiċ or féiġ, a raven); sgeul, news; and bruaċ, a brink.
67. The following take ta, in nom. pl.:—seol, a sail; ceol, music; neul, a cloud; sgeul, a story; cogaḋ, ​war (pl. cogṫa); cuan, a harbour; dún, a fort (pl. dúnta and dúna); ceud, a hundred; líon, a net; ceap, a trunk of a tree (pl. ceapṫa); múr (pl. múrṫa), a wall.
68. Other nominative plurals—clár, a board, a table, makes cláir or cláraċa; tobar, a well, makes tobair or tobraċa, tobaireaċa or toibreaċa; sluaġ, a crowd, makes sluaiġte.
69. Many nouns of this declension have two or more forms in the nominative plural. The regular plural is the better one, though the others are also used. The following are a few examples of such nouns:—fear, a man (pl. fir, feara; mac, a son (pl. mic, maca); leaḃar, a book leaḃair, leaḃra; arm, an army (pl. airm, arma); capall, a horse (pl. capaill, caiple).
70. The termination ‑raḋ has a collective, not a plural force; just like ry in the English words cavalry, infantry, etc. This termination was formerly neuter, but now it is masculine or feminine; the genitive masculine being ‑raiḋ, the genitive feminine ‑raiḋe. Hence laoċraḋ, a band of warriors, macraḋ, a company of youths, eaċraḋ, a number of steeds (cavalry), are not really plurals of laoċ, mac, and eaċ, but collective nouns formed from them. Likewise éanlaiṫ, (spoken form, éanlaiṫe) is a collective noun meaning a flock of birds, or birds in general, and it is not really the plural of éan. However, laoċraḋ and éanlaiṫ are now used as plurals.
Appendix I. gives a list of nouns belonging to this declension.
THE SECOND DECLENSION.
71. All nouns of the 2nd declension are feminine. They all end in consonants, but the consonants may be either broad or slender.
72. The genitive singular is formed by adding e, (if the last vowel of the nominative be broad it must be attenuated); and if the last consonant be ċ it is changed into ġ in the genitive (except in words of one syllable).
73. The dative singular is got by dropping the final e of the genitive.
74. The nominative plural is formed by adding a or e (a, if final consonant be broad) to the nom. sing.
Examples.
| 75. | lil, a lily. | lil, a lily. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | lil | lile |
| Gen. | lile | lil |
| Dat. | lil | liliḃ |
| Voc. | a lil | a lile |
| 76. | cos, a foot or a leg. | cos, a foot or a leg. |
| Nom. & Acc. | cos | cosa |
| Gen. | coise | cos |
| Dat. | cois | cosaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ċos | a ċosa |
| 77. | cailleaċ, a hag. | cailleaċ, a hag. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | cailleaċ | cailleaċa |
| Gen. | cailliġe | cailleaċ |
| Dat. | cailliġ | cailleaċaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ċailleaċ | a ċailleaċa |
78. Like nouns of 1st declension, the vowels of the nom. sing. are sometimes changed when the final consonant is attenuated in the genitive singular.
The following are the chief changes:—
| Change | io | in the nom. sing. | into | i | in the gen. sing. |
| „ | eu | „ | „ | éi | „ |
| „ | ia | „ | „ | éi | „ |
| „ | o (short) sometimes | o (short) sometimes | „ | ui | „ |
In words of one syllable change ea into ei (but cearc, a hen, becomes circe); in words of more than one syllable change ea into i.
| 79. | beaċ, a bee. | beaċ, a bee. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | beaċ | beaċa |
| Gen. | beiċe | beaċ |
| Dat. | beiċ | beaċaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ḃeaċ | a ḃeaċa |
| 80. | geug, a branch. | geug, a branch. |
| Nom. & Acc. | geug | geuga |
| Gen. | géige | geug |
| Dat. | géig | geugaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ġeug | a ġeuga |
| 81. | grian, a sun. | grian, a sun. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | grian | griana, grianta |
| Gen. | gréine | grian |
| Dat. | gréin | grianaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ġrian | a ġriana |
| 82. | long, a ship. | long, a ship. |
| Nom. & Acc. | long | longa |
| Gen. | luinge | long |
| Dat. | luing | longaiḃ |
| Voc. | a long | a longa |
| 83. | freuṁ, a root. | freuṁ, a root. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | freuṁ | freuṁa (or freuṁaċa) |
| Gen. | fréiṁe | freuṁ (freuṁaċa) |
| Dat. | fréiṁ | freuṁaiḃ (freuṁaċaiḃ) |
| Voc. | a ḟreuṁ | a ḟreuṁa (a ḟreuṁaċa) |
| 84. | áit, a place. | áit, a place. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | áit | áite, áiteanna or áiteaċa |
| Gen. | áite | áit, áiteanna „ áiteaċa |
| Dat. | áit | áitiḃ, áiteannaiḃ, áiteaċaiḃ |
| Voc. | a áit | a áite, áiteanna, áiteaċa |
The above are two examples of nouns with strong nominative plural (see par. 48).
85. In forming the genitive, nouns are sometimes ​syncopated, as buiḋean, a company, gen. buiḋne (see pars. 33, 35); bruiḋean, a palace, gen. sing. bruiḋne.
Irregular Genitives Singular.
| clann, a clan, children, | makes | cloinne, clainne, | pl. | clanna |
| deoċ, a drink, | „ | diġe, | „ | deoċa |
| sgian, a knife, | „ | sgine, | „ | sgeana |
| briaṫar, a (solemn) word, | „ | bréiṫre, | „ | briaṫra |
| bláṫaċ, buttermilk, | „ | bláiṫċe | bláiṫċe | bláiṫċe |
| laṫaċ, mud, mire, | „ | laiṫċe | laiṫċe | laiṫċe |
| daḃaċ, a vat, | „ | daiḃċe | „ | daḃaċa |
| aġaiḋ, a face, | „ | aiġṫe | „ | aiġṫe |
87. Many nouns of this declension form their nominative plural in anna or aċa. The final a of these terminations may be dropped in the genitive plural.
| NOM. SING. | NOM. PL. |
| cúis, a cause | cúiseanna |
| luiḃ, an herb | luiḃeanna |
| deil, a lathe | deileanna |
| gluais, a contrivance | gluaiseanna |
| béim, a stroke | béimeanna |
| duais, a prize, reward | duaiseanna |
| léim, a leap | léimeanna |
| réim, a course, a voyage | réimeanna |
| áit, a place | áite, áiteanna, áiteaċa |
| luċ, a mouse | luċa, luċanna |
| sgoil, a school | sgoileanna (sgolta), sgoilteaċa ​ |
| céim, a step | céimeanna |
| fuaim, a sound | fuamanna |
| uair, an hour, time | uaire, uaireanna, uaireannta |
| sráid, a street | sráide, sráideanna, sráideaċa |
| páirc, a field | páirce, páirceanna |
| feis, a festival | feiseanna |
88. Nouns that take aċa in nominative plural—
| obair, a work | oibreaċa |
| óráid, an oration | óráideaċa |
| slat, a rod | slata, slataċa |
| litir, a letter | litre, litreaċa |
| uḃ, an egg | uiḃe, uiḃeaċa |
| paidir, a prayer | paidreaċa |
| aicíd, a disease | aicídeaċa, aicídí |
| ciúṁais, an edge | ciúṁaiseaċa |
| coicṫiḋis, a fortnight | coicṫiḋiseaċa, coicṫiḋisí |
| truaill, a sheathe, a scabbard | truailleaċa |
| leac, a flag, a flat stone | leaca, leacaċa, leacraċa |
89. The following take te, ṫe, or ṫa in the nominative plural; aḋ may be added in the genitive plural:—coill, a wood; túir, a pillar, a prop; tír, a country (pl. tíorṫa; aġaiḋ, face (pl. aiġṫe; speur, a sky, speurṫa.
90. Sometimes when the last vowel of the nominative singular is i preceded by a broad vowel, the ​genitive plural is formed by dropping the i, as súil, an eye, gen. pl. súl; fuaim, a sound, gen. pl. fuam, &c.
For a list of nouns ending in a broad consonant belonging to this declension, see Appendix II.
THIRD DECLENSION.
91. The 3rd declension includes (1) personal nouns ending in óir (all masculine), (2) derived nouns in aċt or aċd (feminine), (3) other nouns ending in consonants which are, as a rule, masculine or feminine according as they end in broad or slender consonants.
92. The genitive singular is formed by adding a. If the last vowel of the nominative be i preceded by a broad vowel, the i is usually dropped in the gen., as toil, a will, gen. tola.
93. The nominative plural is usually the same as the genitive singular; but personal nouns ending in óir add í or iḋe to the nominative singular.
94. Most of the derived nouns in aċt, being abstract in meaning, do not admit of a plural. Mallaċt, a curse, and a few others have plurals. Fuaċt, cold, although an abstract noun in aċt, is masculine.
95. The vowels of the nominative often undergo a change in the formation of the genitive singular. These changes are just the reverse of the vowel changes of the 1st and 2nd declensions (see pars. 60 and 78).
| Change | ei, i | or | io | (short) | in nom. into | ea | in the genitive |
| „ | u | „ | ui | „ | „ | o | „ |
| „ | éi | éi | éi | | „ | éa | „ |
Examples.
| 96. | cnáṁ, a bone. | cnáṁ, a bone. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | cnáṁ | cnáṁa |
| Gen. | cnáṁa | cnáṁ |
| Dat. | cnáṁ | cnáṁaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ċnáṁ | a ċnáṁa |
| 97. | fíon, wine. | fíon, wine. |
| Nom. & Acc. | fíon | fíona, fíonta |
| Gen. | fíona | fíon |
| Dat. | fíon | fíonaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ḟíon | a ḟíona |
| 98. | crios, a belt, a girdle. | crios, a belt, a girdle. |
| Nom. & Acc. | crios | creasa |
| Gen. | creasa | crios |
| Dat. | crios | creasaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ċrios | a ċreasa |
| 99. | feoil, flesh, meat. | feoil, flesh, meat. |
| Nom. & Acc. | feoil | feola |
| Gen. | feola | feoil |
| Dat. | feoil | feolaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ḟeoil | a ḟeola |
| 100. | bádóir, a boatman. | bádóir, a boatman. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | bádóir | bádóirí (bádóiriḋe) |
| Gen. | bádóra | bádóir, bádóirí |
| Dat. | bádóir | bádóiríḃ (bádóiriḋiḃ) |
| Voc. | a ḃádóir | a ḃádóirí (a ḃádóiriḋe) |
| 101. | druim, masc., the back. | druim, masc., the back. |
| Nom. & Acc. | druim | dromanna |
| Gen. | droma | dromanna |
| Dat. | druim | dromannaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ḋruim | a ḋromanna |
| 102. | greim, masc., a morsel, grip. | greim, masc., a morsel, grip. |
| Nom. & Acc. | greim | greamanna |
| Gen. | greama | greamanna |
| Dat. | greim | greamannaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ġreim | a ġreamanna |
103. Some nouns of this declension, ending in l or n, form their nominative pl. by adding ta or te to the nom. sing. These may add aḋ to form gen. pl., as—
| móin, a bog, | nom. pl. | móinte |
| táin, a drive, | " | táinte |
| bliaḋain, a year, | " | bliaḋanta |
| | NOM. PLURAL. | NOM. PLURAL. | NOM. PLURAL. |
| am, time | amannta | or | amanna |
| sruṫ, a stream | sroṫa | „ | sroṫanna |
| druim, m., a back | | | dromanna |
| guṫ, a voice | goṫa | „ | goṫanna |
| greim, m., a morsel | | | greamanna |
| ciṫ, or cioṫ, a shower | ceaṫa | „ | ceaṫanna |
| cleas, a trick | cleasa | „ | cleasanna |
| anam, a soul | anma | „ | anmanna |
| daṫ, a colour | daṫa | „ | daṫanna |
| ainm, a name | ainmne, ainmneaċa, anmanna | ainmne, ainmneaċa, anmanna | ainmne, ainmneaċa, anmanna |
| maiḋm, a defeat | maḋma, maḋmanna | maḋma, maḋmanna | maḋma, maḋmanna |
Other Nominatives Plural.
| gníoṁ, a deed an act | makes | gníoṁarṫa |
| connraḋ, a compact, covenant | „ | connarṫa |
| cáin, a tax | „ | cánaċa |
| buaċaill, a boy | „ | buaċaillí |
| cliaṁain, a son-in-law | „ | cliaṁnaċa |
| leabaḋ, f., a bed | „ | leabṫa, leapṫaċa, leapṫa |
| cuid, a share, a portion | „ | codċa, codana |
For a list of nouns belonging to this declension, see Appendix III.
THE FOURTH DECLENSION.
106. The 4th declension includes (1) personal nouns in aire, aiḋe, uiḋe, aiġe (sometimes spelled aiḋ, uiḋ, aiġ), which are all masculine; (2) diminutives in ín (said to be all masculine); (3) abstract derivatives formed from the gen. sing. feminine of adjectives (all feminine), as gile, brightness, from geal; féile, generosity, from fial; áilne, beauty, from áluinn, &c.; (4) all nouns ending in vowels, and which do not belong to the 5th declension. To assist the student a list of the most important nouns of the 5th declension is given in the Appendix IV.
107. This declension differs from all others in having all the cases of the singular exactly alike.
108. The nominative plural is usually formed by adding í, iḋe or aḋa.
109. The genitive plural is like the nom. pl., but eaḋ is frequently added in other grammars. There is no necessity whatever for this, because both cases are pronounced alike.
110. Nouns of more than one syllable ending in a form their nom. plural in aiḋe, or aí, as mála, a bag, pl. málaiḋe, or málaí; cóta, a coat, pl. cótaiḋe, or cótaí.
| 111. | cailín, masc., a girl. | cailín, masc., a girl. | cailín, masc., a girl. | cailín, masc., a girl. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. | PLURAL. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | cailín | cailíní | or | (cailíniḋe) |
| Gen. | cailín | cailíní (cailín) | „ | (cailíniḋe) |
| Dat. | cailín | cailíníḃ | „ | (cailíniḋiḃ) |
| Voc. | a ċailín | a ċailíní | „ | (a ċailíniḋe) |
| 112. | tiġearna a lord. | tiġearna a lord. |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | tiġearna | tiġearnaí (‑aiḋe) |
| Gen. | tiġearna | tiġearnaí (‑aiḋe) |
| Dat. | tiġearna | tiġearnaiḃ (‑aiḋiḃ) |
| Voc. | a ṫiġearna | a ṫiġearnaí (‑aiḋe) |
113. The following nouns take te immediately after the last consonant to form the nominative plural:—
| baile, a town | plural | bailte or bailteaċa |
| sloinne, a surname | „ | sloinnte |
| múille, a mule | „ | múillte |
| míle, a thousand, a mile | „ | mílte |
| léine, a shirt | „ | léinte, léinteaċa |
| teine, a fire | „ | teinte, teinteaċa |
| cúinne, a corner | „ | cúinnte, cúinní |
114. The following nouns add ṫe in nominative plural, viz., all nouns in ḋe or ġe—e.g. croiḋe, a heart, pl. croiḋṫe; also caoi, a way, a method; daoi, a fool; saoi, a wise man; draoi, a druid; dlaoi, a curl.
​Gnó, a work (pl. gnóṫa), níḋ, or ní a thing (pl. neiṫe);
| duine, a person, | makes | daoine | in nom. pl. |
| uinge, an ounce, | „ | uingeaċa | „ |
| easna, a rib, | „ | easnaċa | „ |
115. A few proper nouns, although not ending in a vowel or ín, belong to this declension, and do not change their form in any of their cases, viz.:—Pádraig, Patrick; Gearóid, Gerald; Muiris, Maurice; Caṫaoir, Cahir.
The word luċt, a people, does not change in gen.
THE FIFTH DECLENSION.
116. Most of the nouns belonging to this declension end in a vowel, and are, with a few exceptions, feminine.
117. The genitive singular is formed by adding a broad consonant.
This consonant varies in different nouns, but is usually n, nn, sometimes d, ḋ, or ċ. When the nominative singular ends in a consonant, a or ea comes between that consonant and the consonant added.
118. The dative singular is formed by attenuating the genitive. In the case of those nouns which form the genitive by adding ċ, the dative singular is usually like the nominative.
​119. The nominative plural, as a general rule, is formed by adding a to the genitive singular. A few form their nominative plural by adding e to the gen. sing. This is accompanied with syncope, as in cáirde, friends; náiṁde, enemies; gaiḃne, smiths; and aiḃne, rivers, which are the plurals of cara, náṁa, gaḃa, and aḃ, or aḃa.
Some others form the nominative plural by attenuating the genitive singular, as in laċain, ducks; coin, hounds; fiċid, twenty; caoiriġ, sheep; coṁursain, neighbours.
The genitive plural is exactly like the genitive singular.
Examples.
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| 120. | pearsa, fem., a person. | pearsa, fem., a person. |
| Nom. & Acc. | pearsa | pearsana |
| Gen. | pearsan | pearsan |
| Dat. | pearsain | pearsanaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ṗearsa | a ṗearsana |
| 121. | cara, fem., a friend. | cara, fem., a friend. |
| Nom. & Acc. | cara | cáirde |
| Gen. | carad | carad |
| Dat. | caraid | cáirdiḃ |
| Voc. | a ċara | a ċáirde |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| 122. | gaḃa, masc., a smith. | gaḃa, masc., a smith. |
| Nom. & Acc. | gaḃa | gaiḃne |
| Gen. | gaḃann | gaḃann |
| Dat. | gaḃainn | gaiḃniḃ |
| Voc. | a ġaḃa | a ġaiḃne |
| 123. | laċa, fem., a duck. | laċa, fem., a duck. |
| Nom. & Acc. | laċa | laċain |
| Gen. | laċan | laċan |
| Dat. | laċain | laċanaiḃ |
| Voc. | a laċa | a laċana |
| 124. | cuisle, fem., a vein. | cuisle, fem., a vein. |
| Nom. & Acc. | cuisle | cuisleanna |
| Gen. | cuisleann | cuisleann |
| Dat. | cuislinn | cuisleannaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ċuisle | a ċuisleanna |
| 125. | caora, fem., a sheep. | caora, fem., a sheep. |
| Nom. & Acc. | caora | caoiriġ |
| Gen. | caoraċ | caoraċ |
| Dat. | caoraiġ | caorċaiḃ, caoraċaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ċaora | a ċaorċa or a ċaoraċa |
| 126. | caṫaoir, fem., a chair. | caṫaoir, fem., a chair. |
| Nom. & Acc. | caṫaoir | caṫaoireaċa |
| Gen. | caṫaoireaċ | caṫaoireaċ |
| Dat. | caṫaoir | caṫaoireaċaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ċaṫaoir | a caṫaoireaċa |
| | SINGULAR (no Plural). | SINGULAR (no Plural). |
| 127. | Nom. & Acc. | Éire (Ireland) |
| | Gen. | Éireann |
| | Dat. | Éirinn |
| | Voc. | a Éire |
| Nom. & Acc. | Teaṁair (Tara) |
| Gen. | Teaṁraċ |
| Dat. | Teaṁraiġ or Teaṁair |
| Voc. | a Ṫeaṁair |
| Nom. & Acc. | Alba (Scotland) |
| Gen. | Alban |
| Dat. | Albain |
| Voc. | a Alba |
130. The following nouns are used only in the plural, referring originally rather to the inhabitants of the place than to the place itself:—
Sacsana, England. :
| Nom. & Acc. | Sacsana or Sacsain |
| Gen. | Sacsan |
| Dat. | Sacsanaiḃ |
| | Laiġin, Leinster | Connaċta, Connaught | Ulaiḋ, Ulster |
| Nom. & Acc. | Laiġin | Connaċta | Ulaiḋ |
| Gen. | Laiġean | Connaċt | Ulaḋ |
| Dat. | Laiġniḃ | Connaċtaiḃ | Ultaiḃ |
Heteroclite Nouns.
131. Heteroclite nouns are those which belong to more than one declension. The following are the chief nouns of this class. We give only the genitive case in the singular, as the other cases present no difficulty. The irregular nominative plurals only are given:—
| NOUN. | DECLENSIONS. | | GEN. SING. | GEN. SING. | NOM. PL. |
| briaṫar, a word | 1 & 2 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | briaṫair bréiṫre | | |
| sgiaṫ, a shield | 1 & 2 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | sgéiṫ sgéiṫe | | |
| teine, a fire | 4 & 5 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | teine teineaḋ | teine teineaḋ | teinte |
| beaṫa, life | 4 & 5 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | beaṫa beaṫaḋ | | |
| sliġe, a way | 4 & 5 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | sliġe sliġeaḋ | sliġe sliġeaḋ | sliġṫe |
| coill, a wood | 2 & 5 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | coille coilleaḋ | coille coilleaḋ | coillte |
| móin, a bog | 3 & 5 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | móna mónaḋ | móna mónaḋ | móinte |
| talaṁ, m., land | 1 & 5 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | talaiṁ, m. talṁan, f. | | |
| eorna, barley | 4 & 5 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | eorna eornan | | |
| breiṫeaṁ, a judge | 1 & 5 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | breiṫiṁ breiṫeaṁan | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | breiṫeaṁain breiṫeaṁna ​ |
| feiċeaṁ, a debtor | 1 & 5 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | feiċiṁ feiċeaṁan | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | feiċeaṁain feiċeaṁna |
| srón, f., a nose | 2 & 3 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | sróine sróna | | |
| cuaċ, a cuckoo | 1 & 2 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | cuaiċ, m. cuaiċe, f. | cuaiċ, m. cuaiċe, f. | cuaiċ cuaċa |
| cóṁra, a coffer, coffin | 4 & 5 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | cóṁra cóṁran | cóṁra cóṁran | cóṁrana |
| cáin, a tax | 3 & 5 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | cána cánaċ | cána cánaċ | cána cánaċa |
| coróin, a crown | 2 & 5 | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | coróine corónaċ crónaċ | coróine corónaċ crónaċ | corónaċa |
All abstract nouns ending in eas or as may belong either to the 1st or 3rd declension; as aoiḃneas, pleasure, gen. aoiḃnis or aoiḃneasa. Being abstract nouns they are seldom used in the plural.
Irregular Nouns. :
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| 132. | teaċ, masc., a house. | teaċ, masc., a house. |
| Nom. & Acc. | teaċ, tig | tiġṫe |
| Gen. | tiġe | tiġṫe(aḋ), teaċ |
| Dat. | teaċ, tig | tiġṫiḃ |
| Voc. | a ṫeaċ, ṫig | a ṫiġṫe |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| sliaḃ, masc., a mountain. |||
| Nom. & Acc. | sliaḃ | sléiḃte |
| Gen. | sléiḃe | sléiḃte |
| Dat. | sléiḃ, sliaḃ | sléiḃtiḃ |
| Voc. | a ṡliaḃ | a ṡléiḃte |
aṫair, masc., a father. :
| Nom. & Acc. | aṫair | aiṫre | or | aiṫreaċa |
| Gen. | aṫar | aiṫreaċ | „ | aiṫreaċa |
| Dat. | aṫair | aiṫreaċaiḃ | aiṫreaċaiḃ | aiṫreaċaiḃ |
| Voc. | a aṫair | a aiṫre | or | a aiṫreaċa |
deirḃṡiúr, f., a sister (by blood). :
| Nom. & Acc. | deirḃṡiúr | deirḃṡiúraċa |
| Gen. | deirḃṡeaṫar | deirḃṡiúraċa |
| Dat. | deirḃṡiair | deirḃṡiúraċaiḃ |
| In these words the ḃṡ is pronounced like f. |||
The words máṫair, a mother; bráṫair, a brother (in religion); and dearḃráṫair, a brother (by blood), are declined like aṫair. The genitive of siúr, a sister (in religion), is seaṫar (or siúra).
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| rí, masc., a king. |||
| Nom. & Acc. | rí | ríġṫe, ríoġa, ríoġṫa |
| Gen. | ríoġ | ríġṫe, ríoġ |
| Dat. | ríġ | ríġṫiḃ |
| Voc. | a rí | a ríġṫe |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| bean, fem., a woman. |||
| Nom. & Acc. | bean | mná |
| Gen. | mná | ban |
| Dat. | mnaoi | mnáiḃ |
| Voc. | a ḃean | a ṁná |
bó, fem., a cow. :
| Nom. & Acc. | bó | ba |
| Gen. | bó | bó |
| Dat. | buin | buaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ḃó | a ḃa |
Dia, masc., God. :
| Nom. & Acc. | Dia | Dée, Déiṫe |
| Gen. | Dé | Dia, Déiṫeaḋ |
| Dat. | Dia | Déiṫiḃ |
| Voc. | a Ḋé, a Ḋia | a Ḋée |
lá, masc., a day. :
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Nom. & Acc. | lá | laeṫe, laeṫeanta |
| Gen. | lae | laeṫeaḋ, laeṫeanta, lá |
| Dat. | ló, lá | laeṫiḃ, laeṫeantaiḃ |
| Voc. | a lá | a laeṫe, a laeṫeanta |
cré, fem., soil, earth. :
| Nom. & Acc. | cré | créiḋeana |
| Gen. | criaḋ, créiḋeaḋ | criaḋ |
| Dat. | créiḋ, cré | créiḋeanaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ċré | a ċréiḋeana |
| | SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| mí, fem., a month. |||
| Nom. & Acc. | mí | míosa |
| Gen. | míosa | míos |
| Dat. | mís, mí | míosaiḃ |
ceó, masc., a fog. :
| Nom. & Acc. | ceó | ceoḋana, ceóċa |
| Gen. | ciaċ, ceoiġ | ceó |
| Dat. | ceó | ceóċaiḃ |
ga, masc., a spear, javelin, sunbeam. :
| Nom. & Acc. | ga | gaeṫe, gaoi, gaoiṫe |
| Gen. | ga, gae, gaoi | gaoiṫe(aḋ), gaṫ |
| Dat. | ga | gaeṫiḃ, gaoiṫiḃ |
ó or ua, masc., a grandson. :
| Nom. & Acc. | ó, ua | uí |
| Gen. | í, uí | ua |
| Dat. | ó, ua | iḃ, uiḃ |
| Voc. | a uí | a uí |
gé, masc., a goose :
| Nom. & Acc. | gé | or | géaḋ | géanna, géaḋa, géiḋe |
| Gen. | gé | „ | géiḋ, geoiḋ | géanna, géaḋ |
| Dat. | gé | „ | géaḋ | géannaiḃ, géaḋaiḃ |
| Voc. | a ġé | „ | a ġéaḋ | a ġéanna, a ġéaḋa |
friġ, fem., a fleshworm. :
| Nom. & Acc. | friġ | friġdeaċa |
| Gen. | friġde | friġdeaċ(a) |
| Dat. | friġid | friġdeaċaiḃ |
* ↑ Do not confound sex with gender. Gender is decided by grammatical usage only.
* ↑ Ainm is feminine in S. Munster.
* ↑ This word is usually used in the plural; as ní ḟuil aon ḟiaca orm, I am not in debt.
* ↑ cogaiḋe is also used.
* ↑ When used as a noun.
* ↑ Teaċ and sliaḃ, two masculine nouns, are sometimes given with the second declension. We give them as irregular nouns (par. 132).
* ↑ A foot in measurement is troiġ, pl. troiġṫe.
* ↑ Also spelled preuṁ in Munster.
* ↑ Note the dative singular of these nouns, buiḋin and bruiḋin.
* ↑ Also bláṫaiġe.
* ↑ Also laṫaiġe.
* ↑ Coill is also 5th declension. See Heteroclite nouns, par. 131.
* ↑ Also spelled cnáiṁ in nom. sing.
* ↑ Móin is also 5th declension. See Heteroclite Nouns, par. 131.
* ↑ Bliaḋna after numerals, as oċt mbliaḋna, eight years.
* ↑ Really pl. of gníoṁraḋ.
* ↑ Cáin is also 5th declension.
* ↑ Also spelled leabaiḋ.
* ↑ Míle, a thousand, or a mile, is invariable after a numeral.
* ↑ teine is also 5th. See Heteroclite nouns, par. 131.
* ↑ Gnóṫaiḋe is spoken in Kerry.
* ↑ It has also the forms toiġe in gen. and toiġ in dative.
* ↑ Lá is generally used after numerals
* ↑ Mí after numerals as oċt mí, 8 months: míonna is spoken in Kerry as plural of mí.
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## Notes

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## Notes (Wikisource)

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