aerach
Irish
Etymology
From Middle Irish aerach (“airy, pleasant; light-hearted, gay, frivolous”); aer (“air”) + -ach. The sense ‘homosexual’ is a semantic loan from English gay.
Pronunciation
- (Munster, Connacht) IPA(key): /ˈeːɾˠəx/
- (Ulster) IPA(key): /ˈeːɾˠa(x)/
Adjective
aerach (genitive singular masculine aeraigh, genitive singular feminine aeraí, plural aeracha, comparative aeraí)
- airy
- lighthearted, gay; lively, frolicsome
- flighty, giddy
- (sexuality, LGBT) gay, homosexual
- Synonyms: bán, homaighnéasach
- Synonym of aerachtúil (“eerie”)
Declension
Declension of aerach
Singular | Plural (m/f) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Positive | Masculine | Feminine | (strong noun) | (weak noun) |
Nominative | aerach | aerach | aeracha | |
Vocative | aeraigh | aeracha | ||
Genitive | aeraí | aeracha | aerach | |
Dative | aerach | aerach; aeraigh (archaic) | aeracha | |
Comparative | níos aeraí | |||
Superlative | is aeraí |
Mutation
Irish mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
Radical | Eclipsis | with h-prothesis | with t-prothesis |
aerach | n-aerach | haerach | not applicable |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Further reading
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “aerach”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “aerach”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
- Entries containing “aerach” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
- Entries containing “aerach” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.