Goídelc
Old Irish
Indo-European (Celtic, Goidelic) · historical / hidden variety
Old Irish is the form of Irish from c. 600-900 CE, attested primarily in glosses on Latin manuscripts (Würzburg, Milan, St. Gall) carried to the continent by Irish monks, and in legal and ecclesiastical texts. It is famously complex morphologically, with three series of initial consonant mutations (lenition, nasalization, h-prothesis), elaborate verb agreement, deponent verbs, and split-ergative-like alignment in certain constructions — features later simplified in Middle and Modern Irish.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Old Irish
Water
uisce
/ˈusʲkʲe/
Fire
tene
/tene/
Sun
grían
/ɡrian/
Moon
éscae
/eːskai/
Star
rétla
/ˈreːdla/
Mother
máthair
/maːθirʲ/
Father
athair
/aθirʲ/
I
mé
/mʲeː/
You
tú
/tuː/
Name
ainm
/anʲmʲ/
Eye
súil
/suːlʲ/
Hand
lám
/laːv/
Heart
cride
/krʲiðʲe/
Love
serc
/serk/
Tree
crann
/kran/
House
tech
/tex/
Dog
cú
/kuː/
Cat
cat
/kat/
Eat
ithid
/iθʲiðʲ/
Drink
ibid
/iβʲiðʲ/
One
oín
/oːin/
Two
dá
/daː/
Hello
fochen
/foxʲen/
Thank you
atlochur
/atloxur/
Good
maith
/maθʲ/
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Celtic, Goidelic) languages
| Meaning | Old Irish | Middle Irish | Irish | Manx | Scottish Gaelic | Middle English | Slovenian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | uisce /ˈusʲkʲe/ | usce /uske/ | uisce /ɪʃcə/ | ushtey /ˈuʃtʲə/ | uisge /ɯʃkʲə/ | water /watər/ | voda /ˈʋɔːda/ |
| Fire | tene /tene/ | tene /tene/ | tine /tʲɪnʲə/ | aile /ailʲ/ | teine /ˈtʲɛnʲə/ | fyr /fyːr/ | ogenj /oːɡənj/ |
| Sun | grían /ɡrian/ | grían /ɡrian/ | grian /ɡɾʲiən/ | grian /ɡriən/ | grian /kɾʲiən/ | sonne /sɔnːə/ | sonce /soːntsɛ/ |
| Moon | éscae /eːskai/ | ésca /eːska/ | gealach /ɟalax/ | eayst /eːst/ | gealach /kʲaɫəx/ | mone /moːnə/ | luna /luːna/ |
| Star | rétla /ˈreːdla/ | rétla /ˈreːtla/ | réalta /ˈɾˠeːl̪ˠt̪ˠə/ | rollage /ˈrolaːɡ/ | reul /rial/ | sterre /ˈstɛrːə/ | zvezda /ˈzʋeːzda/ |
| Mother | máthair /maːθirʲ/ | máthair /maːθirʲ/ | máthair /mɑːhəɾʲ/ | moir /mɔːɾ/ | màthair /maːhəɾʲ/ | moder /moːdər/ | mati /maːti/ |
| Father | athair /aθirʲ/ | athair /aθirʲ/ | athair /ahəɾʲ/ | ayr /ɛːr/ | athair /ahəɾʲ/ | fader /faːdər/ | oče /oːtʃɛ/ |
| I | mé /mʲeː/ | mé /mʲeː/ | mé /mʲeː/ | mee /miː/ | mi /mi/ | I /iː/ | jaz /jaːs/ |
| You | tú /tuː/ | tú /tuː/ | tú /t̪ˠuː/ | oo /uː/ | thu /u/ | thou /θuː/ | ti /tiː/ |
| Name | ainm /anʲmʲ/ | ainm /anʲmʲ/ | ainm /anʲəmʲ/ | ennym /ˈɛnəm/ | ainm /ˈɛnɛm/ | name /ˈnaːmə/ | ime /iˈmeː/ |
| Eye | súil /suːlʲ/ | súil /suːlʲ/ | súil /suːlʲ/ | sooill /suːlʲ/ | sùil /suːl/ | eye /iːə/ | oko /ɔˈkoː/ |
| Hand | lám /laːv/ | lám /laːv/ | lámh /lɑːv/ | laue /lɛːu/ | làmh /ɫ̪aːv/ | hand /hand/ | roka /ɾɔːka/ |
| Heart | cride /krʲiðʲe/ | cride /krʲiðʲe/ | croí /kɾiː/ | cree /kɾiː/ | cridhe /kɾʲiə/ | herte /hɛrtə/ | srce /sərtsɛ/ |
| Love | serc /serk/ | serc /serk/ | grá /ɡɾɑː/ | graih /ɡraːx/ | gaol /kɯːl/ | love /lʊvə/ | ljubezen /ljubeːzɛn/ |
| Tree | crann /kran/ | crann /kran/ | crann /kɾɑːn/ | billey /ˈbilʲə/ | craobh /kɾɯːv/ | tre /treː/ | drevo /dɾeːʋo/ |
| House | tech /tex/ | tech /tex/ | teach /tʲax/ | thie /tai/ | taigh /tʰɤj/ | hous /huːs/ | hiša /xiːʃa/ |
| Dog | cú /kuː/ | madra /madra/ | madra /mɑdɾə/ | moddey /ˈmɔðə/ | cù /kuː/ | hound /huːnd/ | pes /pɛːs/ |
| Cat | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ | cat /kɑt/ | kayt /kat/ | cat /kʰat/ | catte /katːə/ | mačka /maːtʃka/ |
| Eat | ithid /iθʲiðʲ/ | ithid /iθʲiðʲ/ | ith /ɪ/ | gee /ɡʲiː/ | ith /i/ | eten /eːtən/ | jesti /jɛːsti/ |
| Drink | ibid /iβʲiðʲ/ | ól /oːl/ | ól /oːl/ | iu /juː/ | òl /ɔːl/ | drinken /drɪŋkən/ | piti /piːti/ |
| One | oín /oːin/ | óen /oin/ | aon /eːn/ | nane /næn/ | aon /ɯːn/ | oon /oːn/ | eden /ɛːdən/ |
| Two | dá /daː/ | dá /daː/ | dó /d̪ˠoː/ | jees /dʒiːs/ | dà /taː/ | two /twɔː/ | dva /dʋaː/ |
| Hello | fochen /foxʲen/ | fochen /foxʲen/ | dia duit /dʲiə dɪtʲ/ | moghrey mie /ˈmɔɣrə maɪ/ | halò /haloː/ | hail /hɛːl/ | živjo /ʒiːʋjo/ |
| Thank you | atlochur /atloxur/ | atlochur /atloxur/ | go raibh maith agat /ɡɔ ɾɛv mah aɡət/ | gura mie ayd /ˈɡura miː eːd/ | tapadh leat /tʰapə lʲɛt/ | thank /θank/ | hvala /xʋaːla/ |
| Good | maith /maθʲ/ | maith /maθʲ/ | maith /mah/ | mie /maɪ/ | math /ma/ | good /ɡoːd/ | dober /doːbər/ |
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