eala

eala

Irish

Etymology

From Middle Irish ela, elae, from Old Irish elu, from Proto-Celtic *eli- (“swan”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el- (“swan”). Cognates within Celtic include Breton alarc’h, Cornish alargh, Welsh alarch, and outside Celtic Latin olor and Ancient Greek ἐλέα (eléa, “marsh bird”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈal̪ˠə/, /ˈalˠə/

Noun

eala f (genitive singular eala, nominative plural ealaí)

1. swan
   • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, p. 22:

     xøn̄ik mē ȧlə eŕ ə l̄ox.

     Chonaic mé eala ar an loch. (conventional orthography)

     I saw a swan on the lake.

   • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, p. 22:

     əs mō šḱihān ən ȧlə n̄ā šḱihān ǵē.

     Is mó sciathán an eala ná sciathán gé. (conventional orthography)

     The wing of the swan is larger than the wing of a goose.

   • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, p. 22:

     xuə šȧxt n-ȧlə harm̥ sn̥ ēr əńú.

     Chuaigh seacht n-eala tharam san aer inniu. (conventional orthography)

     Seven swans went past me in the air today.

Declension

Declension of eala

Fourth declension

Bare forms Case Singular Plural Nominative eala ealaí Vocative a eala a ealaí Genitive eala ealaí Dative eala ealaí

Forms with the definite article Case Singular Plural Nominative an eala na healaí Genitive na heala na n-ealaí Dative leis an eala don eala leis na healaí

• Archaic dative singular: ealainn

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
eala	n-eala	heala	not applicable
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*elV-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, pages 114–15
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “1 ela”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904), “eala”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 276
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “eala”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

---

Old English

Alternative forms

• ǣlā, hēlā

Etymology

Perhaps from a compound whose elements answer to ēa (“oh!, ah!”) +‎ lā (“lo”). Compare Old Frisian ēala (“hail!, hello!”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæ͜ɑːˌlɑː/

Interjection

ēalā

1. oh; hey

   Ēalā frēond, hwȳ eart þū swā sċēoh?

   Oh friend, why are you so shy?

   • late 9th century, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History

     Ēalā brōðor Eċġberht, ēalā, hwæt dydest þū?

     Oh brother Egbert, oh, what have you done?

Conjunction

ēalā

1. if only
   • c. 897, King Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care

     Ēalā wǣre hē āwðer oþþe hāt oþþe ċeald.

     If only he was either hot or cold.

Derived terms

• ēalā ġif

Descendants

• Middle English: halloo, halow
  • English: hallo, hello

---

Old Frisian

Interjection

ēala

1. hail!

   Eala, frya Fresena!

   Hail, free Frisians!

---

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Middle Irish ela, elae, from Old Irish elu, from Proto-Celtic *eli- (“swan”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el- (“swan”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjal̪ˠə/

Noun

eala f (genitive singular ealaidh, plural ealachan)

1. swan

Mutation

Scottish Gaelic mutation
Radical	Eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
eala	n-eala	h-eala	t-eala
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.