# meá
## Irish
### Etymology 1

From earlier meadh, from Old Irish med, from Proto-Celtic *medā, from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“measure, consider”). Akin to meas.
Cognate with Old English metan, Latin modius, and Ancient Greek μέδιμνος (médimnos, “medimnus”). Compare Scottish Gaelic meidh.

#### Alternative forms

* meadh (superseded)
* meath

#### Pronunciation

The Caighdeán Oifigiúil spelling meá (with a long vowel) conflates Classical meadh and meadhadh. Despite the conflated standardised spelling meá, the pronunciation of meadh and meadhadh remain separate in all dialects with the occasional exception of Connemara where Classical -eadh/-eagh is more commonly pronounced with long /ɑː/ than short /æ(h)/ (both pronunciations are found), whereas Connemara -eadh-/-eagh- before a vowel has generally become long /ɑː/.
* (Munster) IPA: /mʲæh/
* (Connacht) IPA: /mʲæh/, /mʲɑː/
* (Ulster) IPA: /mʲa(h)/
* Homophone: meath (some pronunciations)

#### Noun

meá f (genitive singular as substantive meá, genitive as verbal noun meáite, nominative plural meánna)
* A scale, measure
* weights
* A balance
* verbal noun of meáigh

##### Declension

bare forms
case
singular
plural
nominative
meá
meánna
vocative
a mheá
a mheánna
genitive
meá
meánna
dative
meá
meánna
forms with the definite article
case
singular
plural
nominative
an mheá
na meánna
genitive
na meá
na meánna
dative
leis an meá don mheá
leis na meánna :

##### Derived terms

* an Mheá (“Libra”)
* cruinnmheá f (“precision balance”)
* droichead meáite (“weighbridge”)
* meá Rómhánach (“Roman balance, steel-yard, weigh-beam”)
* micrimheá f (“microbalance”)

##### Related terms

* meas

### Etymology 2

From Old Irish mid, from Proto-Celtic *medu (“wine”), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰu (“honey; honey wine”). Cognate with Old English medu.

#### Alternative forms

* miodh (obsolete)
* meadh (superseded)

#### Noun

meá f (genitive singular meá, nominative plural meánna)
* mead

##### Declension

bare forms
case
singular
plural
nominative
meá
meánna
vocative
a mheá
a mheánna
genitive
meá
meánna
dative
meá
meánna
forms with the definite article
case
singular
plural
nominative
an mheá
na meánna
genitive
na meá
na meánna
dative
leis an meá don mheá
leis na meánna :

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### References

* ↑ Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “med”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
* 1 2 Ó Curnáin, Brian (2007) The Irish of Iorras Aithneach County Galway, volume I, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, page 163
* ↑ Ó Cuív, Brian (1968) The Irish of West Muskerry, Co. Cork: A Phonetic Study, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, section 319, page 112; reprinted 1988
* ↑ Ó Buachalla, Breandán (2017) Cnuasach Chléire, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, page 203
* ↑ Sheehan, Michael (1944) Sean-chaint na nDéise. The idiom of living Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, page 92
* ↑ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, § 297, page 105

### Further reading

* Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “meá”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
* de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “meá”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
* “meá”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2025

## Spanish
### Verb

meá
* second-person singular voseo imperative of mear