mí-

See also: mi- and mì-

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish mí- (compare Scottish Gaelic mì-), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to change”). Cognate with English mis-, Latin minus (“lesser”), Ancient Greek μείων (meíōn, “less”).

Prefix

mí-

Having a negative or missing quality
bad, ill-, evil, dis-, mis-, mal-
not
un-, in-, dis-, mis-

Usage notes

Does not change form for broad or slender nouns;
Triggers lenition when attached to a noun or adjective beginning with a consonant:
‎mí- + ‎ceart (“right, correct”) → ‎mícheart (“incorrect, wrong”)
‎mí- + ‎cothrom (“equal; balanced; level”) → ‎míchothrom (“uneven”)
Written with a hyphen when attached to nouns or adjectives beginning with a vowel:
‎mí- + ‎ordú (“order”) → ‎mí-ordú (“disorder”)

Synonyms

ain-
do-
neamh-
ro-

Derived terms

Irish terms prefixed with mí-

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
mí-	mhí-	not applicable
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “mí-”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
MacBain, Alexander; Mackay, Eneas (1911), “mí-”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Stirling, →ISBN
G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “mí-”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Old Irish

Etymology

Possibly from mis (“less”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mei- (“to change”).

Prefix

mí-

(derogatory) evil, ill, sinister
Synonym: do-

Descendants

Irish: mí-
Manx: mee-
Scottish Gaelic: mì-

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
mí- also mmí- after a proclitic	mí- pronounced with /ṽ(ʲ)-/	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “mí-”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language