bachlach

Irish

Etymology

bachall +‎ -ach

Pronunciation

• (Kerry) IPA^(key): /ˈbˠɑhəl̪ˠəx/

Adjective

bachlach (genitive singular masculine bachlaigh, genitive singular feminine bachlaí, plural bachlacha)

1. Alternative form of bachallach (“curly, ringleted”)
   • 1939, Peig Sayers, “Inghean an Cheannaidhe”, in Marie-Louise Sjoestedt, Description d’un parler irlandais de Kerry (Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études; 270) (overall work in French), Paris: Librairie Honoré Champion, page 197:

     Do bhí a ceann bachlach bán beárrtha aici, agus culath duine uasail uirthi; budh dhóigh leat gur fear í insan am san.

     She had shaved her curly blonde head and put on a gentleman’s suit; you would have thought she was a man at that time.

Inflection

Declension of bachlach

	Singular		Plural (m/f)
Positive	Masculine	Feminine	(strong noun)	(weak noun)
Nominative	bachlach	bhachlach	bachlacha; bhachlacha²
Vocative	bhachlaigh		bachlacha
Genitive		bachlaí	bachlacha	bachlach
Dative	bachlach; bhachlach¹	bhachlach; bhachlaigh (archaic)	bachlacha; bhachlacha²
Comparative	níos bachlaí
Superlative	is bachlaí

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
bachlach	bhachlach	mbachlach
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• “bachallach”, in Historical Irish Corpus, 1600–1926, Royal Irish Academy
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “2 bachlach”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1927) “baċallaċ”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 2nd edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “bachallach”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Middle Irish

Etymology

From bachall +‎ -ach.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaxlax/, /ˈbaxləx/

Noun

bachlach m

1. labourer, serf, bondman
2. clown, churl

Derived terms

• bachlachda
• bachlachus

 

Descendants

• Irish: bathlach
• Scottish Gaelic: balach

Mutation

Middle Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
bachlach	bachlach pronounced with /v(ʲ)-/	mbachlach
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “1 bachlach”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language