cailín
Irish
Etymology
caile (“maid”) + -ín (diminutive suffix)
Pronunciation
- (Munster) IPA(key): /kaˈlʲiːnʲ/
- (Connacht) IPA(key): /ˈkalʲiːnʲ/
- (Ulster) IPA(key): /ˈkælʲinʲ/
Noun
cailín m (genitive singular cailín, nominative plural cailíní)
- girl; young, unmarried woman
- Synonyms: gearrchaile, girseach
- girlfriend
- Synonym: girseach
- female servant, maid
- useful thing (referring to a feminine noun)
- Is í an druil an cailín chun na hoibre.
- The drill is the right tool for the job.
Usage notes
- Cailín is masculine because of the suffix -ín. Nevertheless, the feminine pronouns sí and í are used to refer to it.
Declension
Declension of cailín
Fourth declension
Bare forms
| Forms with the definite article
|
Coordinate terms
- bean (“woman”)
- buachaill (“boy, unmarried young man”)
- fear (“man”)
Derived terms
- cailín aimsire (“servant-girl”)
- cailín báire (“tomboy”)
- cailín bán (“stoat”)
- cailín bláthanna (“flower-girl”)
- cailín coimhdeachta (“bridesmaid”)
- cailín dearg (“tongue”)
- cailín freastail (“waitress”)
- cailín óg (“young girl; bride”)
- cailín oibre (“work-girl”)
- cailín scoile (“schoolgirl”)
- cailín siopa (“shop-girl”)
- cailín tí (“housemaid”)
Descendants
- → English: colleen
- Shelta: lakeen
Mutation
| Irish mutation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Radical | Lenition | Eclipsis |
| cailín | chailín | gcailín |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | ||
Further reading
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “cailín”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
- Entries containing “cailín” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
- Entries containing “cailín” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.
- Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 45