imb
See also: imb' and imb-
Maltese
Alternative forms
- imb' (superseded)
Etymology
Univerbation of ma' + b', fossilised in fixed impressions.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /(ɪ)mp/
Preposition
imb
- Alternative form of b' used in a few expressions.
- wiċċ imb wiċċ ― face to face
- ras imb ras ― head to head
- mpar ― of the same age
Old Irish
Alternative forms
- imm (both etymologies)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /imʲbʲ/
Etymology 1
From Proto-Celtic *amben (compare Welsh ymenyn), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃engʷen- (compare Latin unguen (“grease”), Old High German ancho (“butter”)), from *h₃engʷ- (“anoint”).[1]
Noun
imb n or m (genitive imme, no plural)
- butter
Inflection
| Neuter n-stem | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| Nominative | imbN | — | — |
| Vocative | imbN | — | — |
| Accusative | imbN | — | — |
| Genitive | imme | — | — |
| Dative | immimL | — | — |
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
| |||
Descendants
- Irish: im
- Manx: eeym
- Scottish Gaelic: ìm
Etymology 2
From Proto-Celtic *ambi (compare Welsh am), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (“round about, around”). Cognate with Latin ambi-, Sanskrit अभि (abhí, “towards, over, upon”), Old Persian 𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎹 (a-b-i-y /abiy/, “towards, against, upon”), Old High German umbi, Ancient Greek ἀμφί (amphí, “about, around”) and the first part of Old Armenian ամբ-ողջ (amb-ołǰ, “whole”).
Preposition
imb
- around
- c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 27b16
- Gaibid immib a n‑étach macc coím-sa, amal nondad maicc coím-a, .i. uiscera is hé in dechellt as·beir.
- Put on (literally, put around you) this raiment of servants, as you all are servants, i.e. viscera is the garment that he mentions.
- c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 27b16
Inflection
Inflection of imb
| Person | Normal | Emphatic |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person sing. | immum | |
| 2d person sing. | immut | |
| 3d sing. masc./neut., dative | ||
| 3d sing. masc./neut., accusative | imbi, immi | |
| 3d sing. fem., dative | ||
| 3d sing. fem., accusative | impe | |
| 1st person pl. | immunn | |
| 2d person pl. | immib | |
| 3d person pl., dative | ||
| 3d person pl., accusative | impu, impo |
Forms with a definite article:
- immin, immun (“around the (masculine/feminine accusative singular)”)
Forms with a possessive determiner:
- imdu (“around your sg”)
- imma, imme (“around his/her/its/their”)
Forms with a relative pronoun:
- immo·, immua·
Descendants
- Irish: um
- Scottish Gaelic: mu
- Manx: mysh
Mutation
| Old Irish mutation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Radical | Lenition | Nasalization |
| imb | unchanged | n-imb |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | ||
References
- Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*amben-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 69
Further reading
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “imb, imm ‘butter’”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “1 imm, imb ‘around’”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
- Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940, reprinted 2003), D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, pages 273, 516–18