athair

See also: Athair

Irish

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /ˈɑhəɾʲ/, /ˈahəɾʲ/
• (Connacht)

  (Aran) IPA^(key): /ˈæhəɾʲ/

  (Cois Fharraige) IPA^(key): /æɾʲ/, [æːɾʲ]

  (Mayo) IPA^(key): /ˈahəɾʲ/

• (Ulster)

  (South Donegal) IPA^(key): /ˈahæɾʲ/, /ˈæhæɾʲ/

  (North Donegal) IPA^(key): /ˈahəɾˠ/, /ˈɛhəɾˠ/

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-?

Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr

Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗrder.

Proto-Celtic *ɸatīrder.

Old Irish athair

Irish athair

From Old Irish athair, from Proto-Celtic *ɸatīr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr. Doublet of paidir.

Noun

athair m (genitive singular athar, nominative plural aithreacha)

1. father (male parent; term of address for a priest; male ancestor more remote than a parent, a progenitor)

   Fuair m’athair bás.

   My father died.

2. ancestor
3. sire

Declension

Declension of athair (fifth declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative athair aithreacha vocative a athair a aithreacha genitive athar aithreacha dative athair aithreacha forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an t-athair na haithreacha genitive an athar na n-aithreacha dative leis an athair don athair leis na haithreacha

• Archaic nominative/vocative plural: aithre
• Archaic genitive plural: aithreach
• Archaic dative plural: aithribh, aithreachaibh

Quotations

• 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart [The Aran Dialect], volume II (overall work in German), Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 21:

  ḱē n xȳ ə wil tū, ə æhŕ̥?

  [Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú, a athair?]

  How are you, father? [could be addressed to one’s own father or to a priest, as in English]

• 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart [The Aran Dialect], volume II (overall work in German), Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 22: “mə æhŕəxə [m’aithreacha] ― my fathers, my ancestors”
• 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart [The Aran Dialect], volume II (overall work in German), Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 22: “nə h-æhŕəxə nȳfə [na haithreacha naofa] ― the Church Fathers”

Coordinate terms

• iníon (“daughter”)
• máthair (“mother”)
• mac (“son”)

Derived terms

• Aithreacha na Cathrach
• aithriúil
• Ár nAthair
• ardathair
• athair altrama
• athair céile
• athair críonna
• athair faoistine
• athair mór
• athair muintire
• athair naofa
• Athair Naofa
• Athair Síoraí
• Athair-Mhac
• Dia an tAthair
• leasathair
• seanathair
• sin-seanathair
• uasalathair

Related terms

• aithriúil (“fatherly”, adjective)

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

athair f (genitive singular athrach)

1. creeper (plant that grows by creeping)

Declension

Declension of athair (fifth declension, no plural)

bare forms singular nominative athair vocative a athair genitive athrach dative athair forms with the definite article singular nominative an athair genitive na hathrach dative leis an athair don athair

Derived terms

• athair thalún (“milfoil, yarrow”)

Etymology 3

Rebracketing of nathair. Compare similar rebracketings in the cognates English adder and German Otter.

Noun

athair f (genitive singular athrach)

1. alternative form of nathair (“snake”)

   athair nimhe ― venomous snake

Declension

Declension of athair (fifth declension, no plural)

bare forms singular nominative athair vocative a athair genitive athrach dative athair forms with the definite article singular nominative an athair genitive na hathrach dative leis an athair don athair

Mutation

Mutated forms of athair

radical	eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
athair	n-athair	hathair	t-athair

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

References

References

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “athair”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1927), “aṫair”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 2nd edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 64; reprinted with additions 1996, →ISBN

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• athir

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *ɸatīr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr. Doublet of paiter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.θəɾʲ/
  • (Blasse) [ˈa.θɪɾʲ]
  • (Griffith) [ˈa.θɨɾʲ]

Noun

athair m (genitive athar, nominative plural aithir)

1. father
   • c. 800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 124^b3

     Ní du ṡémigud pectha at·ber-som inso .i. combad dó fa·cherred: “ní sní cetid·deirgni ⁊ ní sní dud·rigni nammá”; acht is do chuingid dílguda dosom, amal du·rolged dïa aithrib íar n-immarmus.

     It is not to palliate sin that he says this, i.e. so that he might put it for this: “we have not done it first and we have not done it only”; but it is to seek forgiveness for himself, as his fathers had been forgiven after sinning.

     (literally, “…as had been forgiven to his fathers”)

Inflection

Masculine r-stem

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	athair	athairL	aithir
vocative	athair	athairL	aithrea
accusative	athairN	athairL	aithrea
genitive	athar	athar	aithreN, athraeN
dative	athairL	aithrib, athraib	aithrib, athraib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

• ^H = triggers aspiration
• ^L = triggers lenition
• ^N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

• athramail

Descendants

• Irish: athair
• Manx: ayr
  • → English: ayr
• Scottish Gaelic: athair

Mutation

Mutation of athair

radical	lenition	nasalization
athair (pronounced with /h/ in h-prothesis environments)	athair	n-athair

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

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 athair”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-?

Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr

Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗrder.

Proto-Celtic *ɸatīrder.

Old Irish athair

Scottish Gaelic athair

From Old Irish athair, from Proto-Celtic *ɸatīr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr. Doublet of paidir.

Pronunciation

• (Lewis, Harris) IPA^(key): /ˈahəð/, /ˈahað/
• (Uist, Barra) IPA^(key): /ˈahɪɾʲ/, (careful pronunciation) /ˈahæɾʲ/

Noun

athair m (genitive singular athar, plural athraichean)

1. father

Declension

Declension of athair (type Vb masculine noun)

indefinite
	singular	plural
nominative	athair	athraichean
genitive	athar	athraichean
dative	athair	athraichean
definite
	singular	plural
nominative	(an) t-athair	(na) h-athraichean
genitive	(an) athar	(nan) athraichean
dative	(an) athair	(na) h-athraichean
vocative	athair	athraichean

Antonyms

• màthair

Derived terms

• athair-baistidh (“godfather”)
• athair-cèile (“father-in-law”)
• bràthair-athar (“paternal uncle”)
• Là nan Athraichean (“Father's Day”)
• piuthar-athar (“paternal aunt”)
• taobh athar (“paternal”)

Mutation

Mutation of athair

radical	eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
athair	n-athair	h-athair	t-athair

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

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 athair”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language