# imb
## Maltese
### Alternative forms

* imb’ (superseded)

### Etymology

Univerbation of ma’ +‎ b’, fossilised in fixed impressions.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /(ɪ)mp/

### Preposition

imb
* Alternative form of b’ used in a few expressions.
    wiċċ imb wiċċ ― face to face
    ras imb ras ― head to head
    mpar ― of the same age
    mbilli ― inasmuch as

## Old Irish
### Alternative forms

* imm (both etymologies)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /imʲbʲ/

### Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *amban (compare Welsh ymenyn), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃engʷen- (compare Latin unguen (“grease”), Old High German ancho (“butter”)), from *h₃engʷ- (“anoint”).

#### Noun

imb n or m (genitive imme, no plural)
* butter

##### Inflection

Neuter n-stem :
| | Singular | Dual | Plural |
| Nominative | imb$^N$ | — | — |
| Vocative | imb$^N$ | — | — |
| Accusative | imb$^N$ | — | — |
| Genitive | imme | — | — |
| Dative | immim$^L$ | — | — |
| Initial mutations of a following adjective: $^H$ = triggers aspiration $^L$ = triggers lenition $^N$ = triggers nasalization ||||

##### Descendants

* Irish: im
* Manx: eeym
* Scottish Gaelic: ìm

#### Further reading

* Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “imb, imm ‘butter’”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Celtic *ambi (compare Welsh am), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (“round about, around”). Cognate with Latin ambi-, Sanskrit अभि (abhí, “towards, over, upon”), Old Persian 𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎹 (a-b-i-y /⁠abiy⁠/, “towards, against, upon”), Old High German umbi, Ancient Greek ἀμφί (amphí, “about, around”) and the first part of Old Armenian ամբ-ողջ (amb-ołǰ, “whole”).

#### Preposition

imb
* around
** c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 27$^b$16
    Gaibid immib a n‑étach macc coím-sa, amal nondad maicc coím-a, .i. uiscera is hé in dechellt as·beir.Put on this raiment of servants, as you all are servants, i.e. viscera is the garment that he mentions.(literally, “Put around you”)
** c. 800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 23$^b$10
    Hó goistiu .i. do·bert goiste imma brágait fadesin ɔid·marb, húare nád ndigni Abisolón a chomairli.By a noose, i.e. he put a noose around his own neck so that it killed him, because Absalom did not follow his advice.(literally, “do his advice”)

##### Inflection

| Person | Normal |
| 1st person sing. | immum |
| 2d person sing. | immut |
| 3d sing. masc./neut., dative | |
| 3d sing. masc./neut., accusative | imbi, immi |
| 3d sing. fem., dative | |
| 3d sing. fem., accusative | impe |
| 1st person pl. | immunn |
| 2d person pl. | immib |
| 3d person pl., dative | |
| 3d person pl., accusative | impu, impo |
Forms with a definite article:
* immin, immun (“around the (masculine/feminine accusative singular)”)
Forms with a possessive determiner:
* imdu (“around your sg”)
* imma, imme (“around his/her/its/their”)
Forms with a relative pronoun:
* immo·, immua·

##### Descendants

* Irish: um
* Scottish Gaelic: mu
* Manx: mysh

#### Further reading

* Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 imm, imb ‘around’”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
* Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940, reprinted 2017) D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, pages 273, 516–18

### References

* ↑ Matasović, Ranko (2009) “*amben-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 69