ainmhí

Irish

Etymology 1

From Old Irish ainmide (“living creature, animal, beast”, literally “having the breath of life, animated”), from ainim(m) (“soul, life”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /anʲəvʲiː/

Noun

ainmhí m (genitive singular ainmhí, nominative plural ainmhithe)

1. animal
2. brute, monster

Declension

Declension of ainmhí

Fourth declension

Bare forms Case Singular Plural Nominative ainmhí ainmhithe Vocative a ainmhí a ainmhithe Genitive ainmhí ainmhithe Dative ainmhí ainmhithe

Forms with the definite article Case Singular Plural Nominative an t-ainmhí na hainmhithe Genitive an ainmhí na n-ainmhithe Dative leis an ainmhí don ainmhí leis na hainmhithe

Alternative forms

• ainmhidhe (superseded)

Derived terms

• ainmhíoch (“animal, brutish; faunistic”, adjective)
• ainmhíocht (“animal nature; brutishness”)
• ardainmhí (“higher animal”)

 

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

ainmhí

1. inflection of ainmheach:
   1. genitive singular feminine
   2. comparative degree

Mutation

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

Further reading

• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “ainmhí”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “ainmhí”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024

References

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “ainmhí”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “ainmide”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language