eachlach

Irish

Etymology 1

From Old Irish echlach (“messenger, courier; attendant”).

Noun

eachlach m or f (genitive singular eachlaigh or eachlaí, nominative plural eachlaigh or eachlacha)

1. courier
2. attendant, messenger

   Synonyms: scéalaí, teachtaire

Declension

As masculine noun:

Declension of eachlach (first declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative eachlach eachlaigh vocative a eachlaigh a eachlacha genitive eachlaigh eachlach dative eachlach eachlaigh forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an t-eachlach na heachlaigh genitive an eachlaigh na n-eachlach dative leis an eachlach don eachlach leis na heachlaigh

As feminine noun:

Declension of eachlach (second declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative eachlach eachlacha vocative a eachlach a eachlacha genitive eachlaí eachlach dative eachlach eachlaigh (archaic, dialectal) eachlacha forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an eachlach na heachlacha genitive na heachlaí na n-eachlach dative leis an eachlach leis an eachlaigh (archaic, dialectal) don eachlach don eachlaigh (archaic, dialectal) leis na heachlacha

Derived terms

• baneachlach (“female courier, messenger; horsewoman”)

Etymology 2

From Middle Irish echlach (“prostitute”), from Old Irish.

Noun

eachlach f (genitive singular eachlaí, nominative plural eachlacha)

1. (literary) prostitute

Declension

Declension of eachlach (second declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative eachlach eachlacha vocative a eachlach a eachlacha genitive eachlaí eachlach dative eachlach eachlaigh (archaic, dialectal) eachlacha forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an eachlach na heachlacha genitive na heachlaí na n-eachlach dative leis an eachlach leis an eachlaigh (archaic, dialectal) don eachlach don eachlaigh (archaic, dialectal) leis na heachlacha

Mutation

Mutated forms of eachlach

radical	eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
eachlach	n-eachlach	heachlach	t-eachlach

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

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “eachlach”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla [Irish–English Dictionary], Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1927), “eaċlaċ”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla [Irish and English Dictionary], 2nd edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 384; reprinted with additions 1996, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 echlach (‘messenger’)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “2 echlach (‘prostitute’)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959), “eachlach”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm