{"id":853,"date":"2011-05-12T18:28:32","date_gmt":"2011-05-12T18:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=853"},"modified":"2011-05-20T18:50:04","modified_gmt":"2011-05-20T18:50:04","slug":"itsy-bitsy-%e2%80%9c-in%e2%80%9d-is-%e2%80%9c-ini%e2%80%9d-ainmfhocal-%e2%80%9c-in%e2%80%9d-m4-de-ghnath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/itsy-bitsy-%e2%80%9c-in%e2%80%9d-is-%e2%80%9c-ini%e2%80%9d-ainmfhocal-%e2%80%9c-in%e2%80%9d-m4-de-ghnath\/","title":{"rendered":"Itsy, Bitsy, \u201c-\u00edn\u201d is \u201c-\u00edn\u00ed\u201d (AINMFHOCAL + \u201c-\u00edn\u201d = M4, de Ghn\u00e1th)"},"content":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn)<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve recently seen various examples of 4th<\/sup>-declension nouns, both masculine and feminine.\u00a0 A key feature for\u00a0an ceathr\u00fa d\u00edochlaonadh<\/strong> is that its possessive forms are the same as the subject forms, so, fewer endings (hur\u00e1)!\u00a0 <\/strong>It isn\u2019t always possible to tell which gender a word is by looking at it, but there are some patterns within this declension, especially for the masculine nouns.\u00a0 Typical 4th<\/sup>-declension masculine endings include:<\/p>\n

-a, <\/strong>as we\u2019ve seen previously (hata, vodca)<\/strong>, and new for this blog, bata <\/strong>(stick), garda, slabhra <\/strong>(chain), urla <\/strong>(forelock, lock of hair) <\/strong><\/p>\n

-aire, <\/strong>especially in occupational terms, like iascaire <\/strong>or bleachtaire <\/strong>(detective), and, <\/strong><\/p>\n

-e, <\/strong>as we saw in duine <\/strong>and domhainlascaine<\/strong>, and now, f\u00e1inne, s\u00faiste<\/strong> (flail), and uisce.\u00a0 <\/strong>Watch out, though, for lots of f4 nouns end in \u201c\u2013e\u201d as well, like maise <\/strong>(beauty), cuisle <\/strong>(recognizable from Million Dollar Baby<\/em>?), and f\u00e1ilte. <\/strong><\/p>\n

For today, we\u2019ll add the \u201c-\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d ending, which is a diminutive suffix.\u00a0 Almost all nouns ending in \u201d-\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d are 4th<\/sup>-declension and masculine, although there are a few exceptions.\u00a0 The plural ending is \u201c-\u00edn\u00ed.\u201d\u00a0 Seo sampla\u00ed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

caip\u00edn<\/strong>, a cap<\/p>\n

an caip\u00edn<\/strong>, the cap<\/p>\n

dath an chaip\u00edn<\/strong>, the color of the cap<\/p>\n

na caip\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>, the caps<\/p>\n

dathanna na gcaip\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>, the colors of the caps.<\/p>\n

In theory, \u201ccaip\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d should mean a \u201clittle\u201d cap, but there doesn\u2019t seem to be a clear-cut word for a larger cap on which this is based.\u00a0 It could just be the English \u201ccap.\u201d\u00a0 There is another Irish word, \u201ccaidhp<\/strong>\u201d (coif, lady\u2019s cap, lady\u2019s bonnet, or cap in general), but there\u2019s no special reason to believe that \u201ccaidhp<\/strong>\u201d and \u201ccaip\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d are related in any but the most general of ways.\u00a0 For pronunciation, remember the \u201c-dh-\u201c of\u00a0 \u201ccaidhp<\/strong>\u201d is essentially silent but it does affect the way the \u201c-ai-\u201d is pronounced, similar to \u201cmy,\u201d \u201cpie,\u201d or \u201ceye\u201d in English.\u00a0 So \u201ccaidhp<\/strong>\u201d more or less rhymes with English \u201cpipe.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cCoif\u201d came into English via French, originally Latin, \u201ccofea, coifa<\/em>\u201d (a cap), with West Germanic origins (kupphia, kupfe)<\/em> and English \u201ccap,\u201d as such, apparently derives from Latin \u201ccappa<\/em>\u201d (hooded cloak, cape), itself related to \u201ccaput<\/em>\u201d (Latin for \u201chead\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

More examples with the \u201c-\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d ending include:<\/p>\n

\u00e9in\u00edn<\/strong> (little or baby bird), an t-\u00e9in\u00edn, (gob) an \u00e9in\u00edn, na h\u00e9in\u00edn\u00ed, (goba) na n-\u00e9in\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is a diminutive of \u201c\u00e9an<\/strong>\u201d (bird).\u00a0 You may remember this word from the lullaby in The Secret of Roan Inish, <\/em>with the recurring line \u201c(a) \u00e9in\u00edn\u00ed, codla\u00edg\u00ed\u201d<\/strong> (sleep, little birds).\u00a0 If not, I highly recommend the movie, partly for the excellent story, but also for the magic realism which results in suspended or almost suspended disbelief, and the flashback scenes in Irish, some bits being noticeably \u201cearthy.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

capaill\u00edn<\/strong> (pony), an<\/strong> capaill\u00edn, (bia) an chapaill\u00edn, na capaill\u00edn\u00ed, (bia) na gcapaill\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>, which you might recognize from the pen name \u201cMyles na gCopaleen\u201d (or \u201cMyles na Gopaleen),\u201d used by Flann O\u2019Brien (aka Brian O\u2019Nolan or \u00d3 Nuall\u00e1in).\u00a0 He wrote, among other great works, An B\u00e9al Bocht<\/em><\/strong> (The Poor Mouth<\/em>), in Irish, and The Third Policeman<\/em> (featured on ABC\u2019s Lost<\/em>), in English.\u00a0 Myles aka Flann aka Brian had the Northern dialect of Irish, which is said to account for the plural ending in his pen name (simply \u201c-een,\u201d ignoring the final \u201c-\u00ed\u201d of \u201cgcapaill\u00edn\u00ed\u201d<\/strong>).\u00a0 At any rate, Myles was simply capitalizing on the long pre-gCopaleenian literary history of the word, in its Boucicaultian, errm, stage (Myles-na-Coppaleen) [sic, just to cover my bases], which may ultimately reference Mil Easp\u00e1inne<\/strong> and all his lot, from Spain, wouldn\u2019t you know, as well as the Latin \u201cmiles<\/em>\u201d (soldier), but it\u2019ll take at least blag amh\u00e1in eile<\/strong> to get all that sorted.\u00a0 The key point here is that \u201ccapaill\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d is a diminutive of \u201ccapall<\/strong>\u201d (horse) and Myles\/Flann\/Brian made it very well known through his popularity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For more on Myles, particularly the April 1, 2011 celebration of \u201cMylesday,\u201d check out: http:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/newspaper\/ireland\/2011\/0402\/1224293650126.html<\/a>.\u00a0 Perhaps Myles himself (RIP) wouldn\u2019t mind if I offered up a word I just coined (fad m\u2019eolais<\/strong>) and which is, perhaps, utterly useless,\u00a0\u201c*caidhpill\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>,\u201d for well-coiffed little horses, well fed on \u201coat-coiffure,\u201d which means their manes are naturally well combed, braided, teased, and bespangled, without the aid of coiffeurs (*caidhpeoir\u00ed<\/strong>?).\u00a0 Maybe in the spirit of Mylesday, it is better to be \u201cwell-quaffed\u201d than \u201cwell-coiffed!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anyway, back to real words.\u00a0 Many of you are already aware of the quirk regarding the Irish noun \u201ccail\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d (girl, colleen), which is 4th<\/sup>-declension and masculine.\u00a0 Yes, the word for \u201cgirl\u201d in Irish is a masculine noun!\u00a0 Remember, grammatical gender has little to do with anatomy, although it true that most words for women, girls, and female animals are grammatically feminine (bean, girseach, cearc, l\u00e1ir, srl<\/strong>.).\u00a0 The forms for \u201ccail\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d are:<\/p>\n

cail\u00edn, an cail\u00edn, (g\u00fana) an chail\u00edn, na cail\u00edn\u00ed, (g\u00fana\u00ed) na gcail\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is a diminutive of a fairly uncommon word, \u201ccaile<\/strong>\u201d (girl, wench, country woman).\u00a0 Curiously, the gender for \u201ccaile<\/strong>\u201d is either masculine or feminine, depending on sources and dialects.\u00a0 Seem odd?\u00a0 It\u2019s not uncommon for different dialects to treat gender differently for certain nouns, but fortunately, the number of words subject to such ambiguity is fairly small.\u00a0 \u00c1bhar blag eile<\/strong>?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perhaps it\u2019s some comfort to know that in Scottish Gaelic, a related word, \u201ccaileag<\/strong>,\u201d is quite straightforwardly feminine, and a near-equivalent in Manx, \u201ccaillin<\/strong>\u201d is also feminine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I mentioned above that not every \u201c-\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d noun is masculine.\u00a0 The exceptions are quite rare, but here are a few that are 4th<\/sup>-declension and feminine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

lach\u00edn <\/strong>(lacha<\/strong>, f + –\u00edn<\/strong>, disregarding the usual vowel harmony), duckling<\/p>\n

aint\u00edn <\/strong>(aint<\/strong>, f\u00a0 + –\u00edn<\/strong>), mostly considered feminine today but formerly considered masculine, because of the suffix; originally this was more like \u201caunty (auntie)\u201d but now is widely used for \u201caunt.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, there you have a smattering words with the \u201c-\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d ending, usually, though not always, diminutives of another well-known word.\u00a0 This ending also shows up in many Hiberno-English words with \u201c-een,\u201d like poteen (poit\u00edn<\/strong>), caubeen (c\u00e1ib\u00edn<\/strong>), and spalpeen (spailp\u00edn<\/strong>).\u00a0 The suffix is sometimes added to an English root (houseen, supeen, etc.).<\/p>\n

But, of course, one can also use adjectives to suggest that something is small.\u00a0 We can always say, quite straightforwardly, \u201can-bheag<\/strong>\u201d (very little).\u00a0 For \u201citsy bitsy\u201d in English, I\u2019d say the nearest Irish phrase with the same feel is \u201cbeag b\u00eddeach<\/strong>\u201d (tiny wee), as in \u201cbuachaill beag b\u00eddeach\u201d <\/strong>(a tiny wee lad).\u00a0 With the uaim <\/strong>involved (the initial \u201cb\u2019s\u201d), it has the feel of the phrase \u201citsy bitsy,\u201d even though the latter uses end rhyme and reduplication to get the catchy, \u201ccute\u201d feel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A few 4th<\/sup>-declension nouns, all borrowed from other languages, end in \u201c-\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d in the singular.\u00a0 A keynoter is \u201cbic\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>,\u201d with \u201cbic\u00ednithe<\/strong>\u201d [bik-EEN-ih-huh, silent \u201ct\u201d] as the plural.\u00a0 While the ending \u201c-\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d is common enough as a plural ending (cail\u00edn\u00ed, spailp\u00edn\u00ed, isp\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>, etc.), it\u2019s quite rare in Irish as a singular ending.\u00a0 The handful of similar examples I find include the following: \u201ccoins\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d (consignee), with \u201ccoins\u00ednithe<\/strong>\u201d as the plural; pain\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong> (a panini), pl. pain\u00edn\u00edos<\/strong>, and M\u00f3il\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong> (a Molinist, follower of the theologian Luis de Molina), pl. M\u00f3il\u00ednithe<\/strong>.\u00a0 Note that \u201cm\u00f3il\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d in the lower case means \u201cmolecules\u201d (plural), with \u201cm\u00f3il\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d as the singular, completely different, a reminder once again, of the importance of ceannlitreacha<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t be typical to add the \u201c-\u00edn\u201d <\/strong>ending to a word that already ends in \u201c-\u00edn\u00ed,\u201d <\/strong>(like bic\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>) but I suppose, if you had to, you could say \u201c*bic\u00edn\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>,\u201d and thus cover (!) the reduplication (\u201cteeny weeny\u201d) aspect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

BTW, the word \u201cbikini\u201d is pretty atypical for English.\u00a0 It\u2019s from the place name \u201cBikini Atoll,\u201d the 1946 nuclear testing site and one of the Marshall Islands.\u00a0 The word \u201cbikini\u201d itself, in the original Micronesian language of the area, means \u201ccoconut surface.\u201d\u00a0 Every word that that shares the \u201c\u2013ini\u201d ending in English that I can find is either a borrowing (tortellini, martini, zucchini) or a proper name (Houdini, Puccini, etc.).\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, getting back to our original theme, the \u201c-\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d suffix usually indicates a 4th<\/sup>-declension masculine noun in Irish, with \u201clach\u00edn\u201d<\/strong> and \u201caint\u00edn\u201d<\/strong> as two prominent exceptions.\u00a0 In English, \u201c-een\u201d is a parallel suffix, catapulted to greater recognition by the hybridized pen name \u201cMyles na gCopaleen.\u201d\u00a0 While words like \u201cpain\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d and \u201ccoins\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d in Irish may have no intentional suggestion of diminutive size, the \u201c-\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d ending will tend to evoke that in Irish, even in loan words from Italian, French, and Marshallese.\u00a0 \u201cBic\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>,\u201d through sheer coincidence, may also create the same illusion, whether it\u2019s technically one that\u2019s \u201cbeag b\u00eddeach<\/strong>\u201d or simply a \u201c*bic\u00edn\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d (plural: bic\u00edn\u00ednithe<\/strong>).\u00a0<\/p>\n

On that note, I\u2019ll see what other 4th<\/sup>-declension endings I can drum up for the next blog.\u00a0 And then, the infamous and existentially challenged c\u00faigi\u00fa d\u00edochlaonadh<\/strong>, and finally the nouns truly considered to be \u201cneamhrialta<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 SGF \u00f3 R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gluais: ainmfhocal <\/strong>[AN-yim-OK-ul], noun, lit. \u201cname-word\u201d; cuisle, <\/strong>pulse, a term of endearment, as in \u201ca chuisle\u201d<\/strong> (acushla); l\u00e1ir<\/strong>, mare; rialta<\/strong>, regular; uaim<\/strong>, alliteration.\u00a0 As for \u201c*caidhpeoir<\/strong>,\u201d which seems like it should be the word for a \u201ccoiffeur,\u201d I confess to finding no evidence for it and improvising.\u00a0 Certainly one could use the existing word \u201cgruagaire<\/strong>\u201d (hairdresser), but I don\u2019t think it would have quite the same cultural cachet as being coiffed by a coiffeur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) We\u2019ve recently seen various examples of 4th-declension nouns, both masculine and feminine.\u00a0 A key feature for\u00a0an ceathr\u00fa d\u00edochlaonadh is that its possessive forms are the same as the subject forms, so, fewer endings (hur\u00e1)!\u00a0 It isn\u2019t always possible to tell which gender a word is by looking at it, but there are some…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-853","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=853"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":862,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853\/revisions\/862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}