cleasach
Irish
Etymology
From Old Irish clesach; synchronically analyzable as cleas (“trick; feat; knack; act”) + -ach (adjectival suffix).
Adjective
cleasach (genitive singular masculine cleasaigh, genitive singular feminine cleasaí, plural cleasacha, comparative cleasaí)
- playful
- tricky, crafty
Declension
Declension of cleasach
| Singular | Plural (m/f) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | Masculine | Feminine | (strong noun) | (weak noun) |
| Nominative | cleasach | chleasach | cleasacha; chleasacha² | |
| Vocative | chleasaigh | cleasacha | ||
| Genitive | cleasaí | cleasacha | cleasach | |
| Dative | cleasach; chleasach¹ | chleasach; chleasaigh (archaic) | cleasacha; chleasacha² | |
| Comparative | níos cleasaí | |||
| Superlative | is cleasaí | |||
¹ When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article.
² When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.
Related terms
- cleasaí m (“playful person or animal; trickster, crafty person; juggler; acrobat; joker”)
- cleasaíocht f (“(act of) playing, tricking; playfulness, trickery; (act of) juggling; dexterous feats, acrobatics”)
Mutation
| Irish mutation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Radical | Lenition | Eclipsis |
| cleasach | chleasach | gcleasach |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | ||
References
- "cleasach" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
- C. Marstrander, E. G. Quin et al., editors (1913–76), “clesach”, in Dictionary of the Irish Language: Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials, Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, →ISBN