sleamhain
Irish
Etymology
From Old Irish slemon, from Proto-Celtic *slibnos. Cognate with Scottish Gaelic sleamhainn, Manx shliawin, Welsh llyfn (“smooth”), Old Breton limn, English slip.
Pronunciation
- (Ulster) IPA(key): /ˈʃʎãuwənʲ/[1]
Adjective
sleamhain (genitive singular feminine sleamhaine, plural sleamhna, comparative sleamhaine)
- slippery
Declension
Declension of sleamhain
| Singular | Plural (m/f) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | Masculine | Feminine | (strong noun) | (weak noun) |
| Nominative | sleamhain | shleamhain | sleamhna; shleamhna² | |
| Vocative | shleamhain | sleamhna | ||
| Genitive | sleamhaine | sleamhna | sleamhain | |
| Dative | sleamhain; shleamhain¹ | shleamhain | sleamhna; shleamhna² | |
| Comparative | níos sleamhaine | |||
| Superlative | is sleamhaine | |||
¹ When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article.
² When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.
Mutation
| Irish mutation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Radical | Lenition | Eclipsis |
| sleamhain | shleamhain after an, tsleamhain | not applicable |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | ||
Further reading
- “sleamhain” at the Historical Irish Corpus, 1600–1926 of the Royal Irish Academy.
- Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “slemon, slemain”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
- “sleaṁain” in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, Irish Texts Society, 1st ed., 1904, by Patrick S. Dinneen, page 653.
- "sleamhain" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
References
- Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 19