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
20 core words in Old Irish
Water
uisce
/ˈusʲkʲe/
Fire
tene
/tene/
Sun
grían
/ɡrian/
Moon
éscae
/eːskai/
Mother
máthair
/maːθirʲ/
Father
athair
/aθirʲ/
Eat
ithid
/iθʲiðʲ/
Drink
ibid
/iβʲiðʲ/
Love
serc
/serk/
Heart
cride
/krʲiðʲe/
Tree
crann
/kran/
House
tech
/tex/
Dog
cú
/kuː/
Cat
cat
/kat/
Hand
lám
/laːv/
Eye
súil
/suːlʲ/
Hello
fochen
/foxʲen/
Thank you
atlochur
/atloxur/
One
oín
/oːin/
Good
maith
/maθʲ/
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Celtic, Goidelic) languages
| Meaning | Old Irish | Middle Irish | Manx | Scottish Gaelic | Irish | Coast Tsimshian | Middle English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | uisce /ˈusʲkʲe/ | usce /uske/ | ushtey /ˈuʃtʲə/ | uisge /ɯʃkʲə/ | uisce /ɪʃcə/ | ax̱s /aχs/ | water /watər/ |
| Fire | tene /tene/ | tene /tene/ | aile /ailʲ/ | teine /ˈtʲɛnʲə/ | tine /tʲɪnʲə/ | laḵw /laqʷ/ | fyr /fyːr/ |
| Sun | grían /ɡrian/ | grían /ɡrian/ | grian /ɡriən/ | grian /kɾʲiən/ | grian /ɡɾʲiən/ | gyemk /ɡʲemk/ | sonne /sɔnːə/ |
| Moon | éscae /eːskai/ | ésca /eːska/ | eayst /eːst/ | gealach /kʲaɫəx/ | gealach /ɟalax/ | gemk /ɡemk/ | mone /moːnə/ |
| Mother | máthair /maːθirʲ/ | máthair /maːθirʲ/ | moir /mɔːɾ/ | màthair /maːhəɾʲ/ | máthair /mɑːhəɾʲ/ | naa /naː/ | moder /moːdər/ |
| Father | athair /aθirʲ/ | athair /aθirʲ/ | ayr /ɛːr/ | athair /ahəɾʲ/ | athair /ahəɾʲ/ | baba /baba/ | fader /faːdər/ |
| Eat | ithid /iθʲiðʲ/ | ithid /iθʲiðʲ/ | gee /ɡʲiː/ | ith /i/ | ith /ɪ/ | lalji /laldʒi/ | eten /eːtən/ |
| Drink | ibid /iβʲiðʲ/ | ól /oːl/ | iu /juː/ | òl /ɔːl/ | ól /oːl/ | hoos /huːs/ | drinken /drɪŋkən/ |
| Love | serc /serk/ | serc /serk/ | graih /ɡraːx/ | gaol /kɯːl/ | grá /ɡɾɑː/ | ksu'hahkw /ksuʔhahkʷ/ | love /lʊvə/ |
| Heart | cride /krʲiðʲe/ | cride /krʲiðʲe/ | cree /kɾiː/ | cridhe /kɾʲiə/ | croí /kɾiː/ | ootnasx̱ /oːtnasχ/ | herte /hɛrtə/ |
| Tree | crann /kran/ | crann /kran/ | billey /ˈbilʲə/ | craobh /kɾɯːv/ | crann /kɾɑːn/ | gan /ɡan/ | tre /treː/ |
| House | tech /tex/ | tech /tex/ | thie /tai/ | taigh /tʰɤj/ | teach /tʲax/ | walp /walp/ | hous /huːs/ |
| Dog | cú /kuː/ | madra /madra/ | moddey /ˈmɔðə/ | cù /kuː/ | madra /mɑdɾə/ | hashasaa /haʃasaː/ | hound /huːnd/ |
| Cat | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ | kayt /kat/ | cat /kʰat/ | cat /kɑt/ | doosgi /duːsɡi/ | catte /katːə/ |
| Hand | lám /laːv/ | lám /laːv/ | laue /lɛːu/ | làmh /ɫ̪aːv/ | lámh /lɑːv/ | an'oon /anʔoːn/ | hand /hand/ |
| Eye | súil /suːlʲ/ | súil /suːlʲ/ | sooill /suːlʲ/ | sùil /suːl/ | súil /suːlʲ/ | mooḵs /muːqs/ | eye /iːə/ |
| Hello | fochen /foxʲen/ | fochen /foxʲen/ | moghrey mie /ˈmɔɣrə maɪ/ | halò /haloː/ | dia duit /dʲiə dɪtʲ/ | ndii ne /ndiː ne/ | hail /hɛːl/ |
| Thank you | atlochur /atloxur/ | atlochur /atloxur/ | gura mie ayd /ˈɡura miː eːd/ | tapadh leat /tʰapə lʲɛt/ | go raibh maith agat /ɡɔ ɾɛv mah aɡət/ | t'oyaxsut nüsm /tʼojaχsut nysm/ | gramercy /ɡraːmɛrsiː/ |
| One | oín /oːin/ | óen /oin/ | nane /næn/ | aon /ɯːn/ | aon /eːn/ | ḵoo'iyaa /qoːʔijaː/ | oon /oːn/ |
| Good | maith /maθʲ/ | maith /maθʲ/ | mie /maɪ/ | math /ma/ | maith /mah/ | am' /amʔ/ | good /ɡoːd/ |
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