badhbh

Irish

FWOTD – 6 May 2014

Alternative forms

• badhb, baidhbhe

Etymology

From Old Irish badb (“crow, witch”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bˠəivˠ/

Noun

badhbh f (genitive singular baidhbhe, nominative plural badhbha)

1. war-goddess
2. hooded crow
   • between 1583 and 1591, Tadhg Dall Ó hUiginn, “Cath Droma Lighean”, in The bardic poems of Tadhg Dall Ó Huiginn‎^[1]:

     Budh iomdha ar madoin go moch/ proinn dá caitheamh go corrach;/ laoich ag ionnráithne a n-arm ngéar,/ iolgháirthe badhbh is brainéan.

     In the morn betimes/ there will be many a meal consumed without comfort,/ warriors whetting (?) their keen weapons,/ shrieks of scaldcrows and ravens.

3. vulture or other ravenous bird

   Synonyms: bultúr, garrfhiach

   • a. 1639, “Leviticus 11:14”, in Muircheartach Óg Ó Cíonga, transl., An Bíobla Naomhtha:

     An badhbh, préacháin na gcéarc do réir a chinnéil;

     and the vulture, and the kite after his kind

4. a scold or curser
5. a female fairy said to be attached to certain families and to foretell death, appearing as a hooded crow

   Synonym: bean sí

   • 1974, Béaloideas, volumes 42–47, page 99:

     ... deirtí go bhfeictí an bhadhbh i bhfoirm mná breá dathúil, gruaig fhada de dhath an óir síos go sála uirthí, i ina suí ar an gcathaoir so agus í ag cíoradh a cinn.

     ... it was said that the badhbh was seen in the shape of a fine good-looking woman with long golden hair down to her heels sitting on this chair and she combing her hair.

Declension

Declension of badhbh

Second declension

Bare forms Case Singular Plural Nominative badhbh badhbha Vocative a bhadhbh a bhadhbha Genitive baidhbhe badhbh Dative badhbh badhbha

Forms with the definite article Case Singular Plural Nominative an bhadhbh na badhbha Genitive na baidhbhe na mbadhbh Dative leis an mbadhbh don bhadhbh leis na badhbha

Derived terms

• badhbh chaointe (“banshee”)
• badhbh ghríofa (“griffon vulture”)
• badhbha (“martial, warlike”, adjective)

Descendants

• → English: bibe

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
badhbh	bhadhbh	mbadhbh
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “badhbh”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “baḋḃ”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 46
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “badb”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “badhbh”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “badhbh”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024