boireannach

Irish

Etymology

From boireann (“rock; rocky country; karst”) +‎ -ach (adjectival suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /ˈbˠɛɾʲən̪ˠəx/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈbˠɛɾʲən̪ˠa(h)/

Adjective

boireannach (genitive singular masculine boireannaigh, genitive singular feminine boireannaí, plural boireannacha, comparative boireannaí)

1. rocky; karsty

Declension

Declension of boireannach

	Singular		Plural (m/f)
Positive	Masculine	Feminine	(strong noun)	(weak noun)
Nominative	boireannach	bhoireannach	boireannacha; bhoireannacha²
Vocative	bhoireannaigh		boireannacha
Genitive		boireannaí	boireannacha	boireannach
Dative	boireannach; bhoireannach¹	bhoireannach; bhoireannaigh (archaic)	boireannacha; bhoireannacha²
Comparative	níos boireannaí
Superlative	is boireannaí

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
boireannach	bhoireannach	mboireannach
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “boireannach”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From boireann +‎ -ach.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɔɾʲən̪ˠəx/
• (Lewis) IPA^(key): [ˈb̥əðən̪ˠəx]
• (Barra) IPA^(key): [ˈb̥oɾʲən̪ˠʌx], [ˈb̥oʒən̪ˠʌx]

Adjective

boireannach (comparative boireannaich)

1. female

Declension

Declension of boireannach (type I adjective)

	Masculine	Feminine	Plural
Nominative	boireannach	bhoireannach	boireannach
Genitive	bhoireannaich	boireannaiche, boireannaich	boireannach
Dative	boireannach	bhoireannaich	boireannach
Vocative	bhoireannaich	bhoireannach	boireannach

Noun

boireannach m

1. woman; female

Usage notes

• Although boireannach is of the masculine gender, because of its semantics the feminine pronoun i is used as its substitute.

Declension

Declension of boireannach (type I masculine noun)

Indefinite
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	boireannach	boireannaich
Genitive	boireannaich	bhoireannach
Dative	boireannach	boireannaich; boireannachaibh✝
Definite
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	(am) boireannach	(na) boireannaich
Genitive	(a') bhoireannaich	(nam) boireannach
Dative	(a') bhoireannach	(na) boireannaich; boireannachaibh✝
Vocative	bhoireannaich	bhoireannacha

^✝ obsolete form, used until the 19th century

Synonyms

• (woman; female): (archaic) bean

Related terms

• boireannta

Mutation

Scottish Gaelic mutation
Radical	Lenition
boireannach	bhoireannach
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “boireannach”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[1], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• Colin Mark (2003) “boireannach”, in The Gaelic-English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 85