álainn

See also: alainn and àlainn

Irish

Alternative forms

• áluinn (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old Irish álaind (“beautiful, fine, lovely”).

Pronunciation

• (Waterford, Cork) IPA^(key): /ˈɑːl̪ˠɪɲ/
• (Kerry) IPA^(key): /ˈɑːl̪ˠənʲ/
• (Aran) IPA^(key): /ˈɑːliːn̠ʲ/
• (Connemara, Mayo) IPA^(key): /ˈɑːlˠən̠ʲ/, /ˈɑːl̪ˠən̠ʲ/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈaːlˠən̠ʲ/, /ˈaːl̪ˠən̠ʲ/

Adjective

álainn (genitive singular masculine álainn, genitive singular feminine áille, plural áille, comparative áille)

1. beautiful, fair, lovely
2. delightful

Usage notes

Takes the adverbial construction go hálainn when used predicatively after a form of bí:

• Tá an crann seo go hálainn.

  This tree is beautiful.

Declension

Declension of álainn

	Singular		Plural (m/f)
Positive	Masculine	Feminine	(strong noun)	(weak noun)
Nominative	álainn	álainn	áille
Vocative	álainn		áille
Genitive		áille	áille	álainn
Dative	álainn	álainn	áille
Comparative	níos áille
Superlative	is áille

Synonyms

• (fair): breá, deas
• (beautiful): greanta

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
álainn	n-álainn	hálainn	not applicable
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “álainn”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 23
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “álainn”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “álainn”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “álainn”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024