eala

Irish

Etymology

From Middle Irish ela, elae, from Old Irish elu, from Proto-Celtic *eli- (“swan”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el- (“swan”). Cognates within Celtic include Breton alarc’h, Cornish alargh, Welsh alarch, and outside Celtic Latin olor and Ancient Greek ἐλέα (eléa, “marsh bird”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈalˠə/

Noun

eala f (genitive singular eala, nominative plural ealaí)

1. swan
   • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart‎^[1], Marburg: N. G. Elwert'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung:

     xøn̄ik mē ȧlə eŕ ə l̄ox.

     conventional orthography: Chonaic mé eala ar an loch.

     I saw a swan on the lake.

   • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart‎^[2], Marburg: N. G. Elwert'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung:

     əs mō šḱihān ən ȧlə n̄ā šḱihān ǵē.

     conventional orthography: Is mó sciathán an eala ná sciathán gé.

     The wing of the swan is larger than the wing of a goose.

   • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart‎^[3], Marburg: N. G. Elwert'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung:

     xuə šȧxt n-ȧlə harm̥ sn̥ ēr əńú.

     conventional orthography: Chuaigh seacht n-eala tharam san aer inniu.

     Seven swans went past me in the air today.

Declension

Declension of eala

Fourth declension

Bare forms Case Singular Plural Nominative eala ealaí Vocative a eala a ealaí Genitive eala ealaí Dative eala ealaí

Forms with the definite article Case Singular Plural Nominative an eala na healaí Genitive na heala na n-ealaí Dative leis an eala don eala leis na healaí

• Archaic dative singular: ealainn

Mutation

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

References

• Ranko Matasović (2009), “*elV-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, pages 114–15
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “1 ela”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• “eala” in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, Irish Texts Society, 2nd ed., 1927, by Patrick S. Dinneen.
• "eala" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.

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Old English

Alternative forms

• ǣlā, hēlā

Etymology

Perhaps from a compound whose elements answer to ēa (“oh!, ah!”) +‎ lā (“lo”). Compare Old Frisian ēala (“hail!, hello!”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæ͜ɑːˌlɑː/

Interjection

ēalā

1. oh; hey

   Ēalā frēond, hwȳ eart þū swā sċēoh?

   Oh friend, why are you so shy?

   • late 9th century, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History

     Ēalā brōðor Eċġberht, ēalā, hwæt dydest þū?

     Oh brother Egbert, oh, what have you done?

Conjunction

ēalā

1. if only
   • c. 897, King Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care

     Ēalā wǣre hē āwðer oþþe hāt oþþe ċeald.

     If only he was either hot or cold.

Derived terms

• ēalā ġif

Descendants

• Middle English: halloo, halow
  • English: hallo, hello

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Old Frisian

Interjection

ēala

1. hail!

   Eala, frya Fresena!

   Hail, free Frisians!

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Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Middle Irish ela, elae, from Old Irish elu, from Proto-Celtic *eli- (“swan”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el- (“swan”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛlˠa/

Noun

eala f (genitive singular ealaidh, plural ealachan)

1. swan

Mutation

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