gabhal

gabhal

Irish

FWOTD – 16 June 2024

Etymology

From Old Irish gabul (fork, forked branch).

Pronunciation

Noun

gabhal m (genitive singular gabhail, nominative plural gabhail)

  1. fork (of a road)
  2. branch
  3. split
  4. crotch
    • 1906, E. C. Quiggin, A Dialect of Donegal (overall work in English), § 40, page 18:
      vɛ:r̥ə m′ə kick ꬶo:l ꬶyd′, said by boys
      [Bhéarfaidh mé cic sa ghabhal dhuit]
      I’m going to kick you in the crotch.
  5. udder, bag (of a cow)
    • 1906, E. C. Quiggin, A Dialect of Donegal (overall work in English), § 40, page 18:
      tα: go:l mαiç bwæN′ə ɛg′ ə wɔ: ʃïn′
      [Tá gabhal maith bainne ag an bhó sin]
      That cow has a good bag of milk.
  6. (cycling) bicycle fork
  7. (chess) fork

Declension

Declension of gabhal (first declension)
bare forms
singular plural
nominative gabhal gabhail
vocative a ghabhail a ghabhala
genitive gabhail gabhal
dative gabhal gabhail
forms with the definite article
singular plural
nominative an gabhal na gabhail
genitive an ghabhail na ngabhal
dative leis an ngabhal
don ghabhal
leis na gabhail

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Fingallian: gebel

Mutation

Mutated forms of gabhal
radical lenition eclipsis
gabhal ghabhal ngabhal

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

  1. ^ Finck, F. N. (1899), Die araner mundart [The Aran Dialect] (in German), Zweiter Band: Wörterbuch [Second volume: Dictionary], Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 121
  2. ^ Ó Searcaigh, Séamus (1925), Foghraidheacht Ghaedhilge an Tuaiscirt [Pronunciation of Northern Irish]‎[1] (in Irish), Béal Feirste [Belfast]: Brún agus Ó Nualláin [Browne and Nolan], section 22, page 11

Further reading

  • Dinneen, Patrick S. (1927), “gaḃal”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla [Irish and English Dictionary], 2nd edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 504; reprinted with additions 1996, →ISBN
  • Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “gabhal”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla [Irish–English Dictionary], Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN