fáilte

See also: failte and fàilte

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish fáilte, from Proto-Celtic *wāletiyā, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁-.

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /ˈfˠɑːlʲtʲə/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈfˠæːlʲtʲə/

Noun

fáilte f (genitive singular fáilte, nominative plural fáiltí)

1. A welcome (with roimh plus the person being welcomed)

   Bhí fáilte is fiche aige romham.

   He had a great welcome for me (lit. ‘He had 21 welcomes before me’)

   D’fhear sí fáilte romhainn.

   She welcomed us (lit. ‘She provided a welcome before us’)

2. (archaic) delight, joy

Declension

Declension of fáilte

Fourth declension

Bare forms Case Singular Plural Nominative fáilte fáiltí Vocative a fháilte a fháiltí Genitive fáilte fáiltí Dative fáilte fáiltí

Forms with the definite article Case Singular Plural Nominative an fháilte na fáiltí Genitive na fáilte na bhfáiltí Dative leis an bhfáilte don fháilte leis na fáiltí

Derived terms

• anfháilte
• céad míle fáilte
• cuir fáilte roimh
• fáilteach
• fáilte an Aingil
• fáilteoir
• fáilte Uí Cheallaigh
• fáiltigh
• fáiltiúil
• fuarfháilte
• tá fáilte romhat/romhaibh

 

Related terms

• fáilteachas m (“welcoming, welcoming manner”)

Interjection

fáilte

1. Welcome!

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
fáilte	fháilte	bhfáilte
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “fáilte, faílte”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• “fáilte” in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, Irish Texts Society, 1st ed., 1904, by Patrick S. Dinneen, page 293.
• "fáilte" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• Entries containing “fáilte” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
• Entries containing “fáilte” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.
• “fáilte” at the Historical Irish Corpus, 1600–1926 of the Royal Irish Academy.

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Middle Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish fáilte.

Noun

fáilte f

1. welcome
   • c. 1000, The Tale of Mac Da Thó's Pig, section 1, published in Irische Teste, vol. 1 (1880), edited by Ernst Windisch:

     Ro·ferad failte friu uile, ocus ructha chuci-sium isin mbruidin.

     They were all made welcome and brought to him in the hall.

     (literally, “A welcome was provided to them all…”)

Descendants

• Irish: fáilte
• Manx: failt
• Scottish Gaelic: fàilte

Mutation

Middle Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
fáilte	ḟáilte	fáilte pronounced with /v(ʲ)-/
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

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

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Old Irish

Alternative forms

• faílte

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *wāletiyā. Equivalent to fáilid +‎ -e.

Cognate with Old English wele, wela, willan (“to wish”), Latin volō (“to want”).(Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfaːl͈ʲtʲe/

Noun

fáilte f

1. joy, happiness
   • 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. 92^a17

     Bed indbadigthi .i. bed chuintechti .i. cid fáilte ad·cot-sa ⁊ du·ngnéu, is túsu immid·folngi dam, a Dǽ; cid indeb dano ad·cot, is tú, Dǽ, immid·folngi dam.

     To be enriched, i.e. to be sought, i.e. though it is joy that I obtain and make, it is you who effects it for me, O God; so too, though it is wealth that I obtain, it is you, God, who effects it for me.

2. salute
3. welcome

Inflection

Feminine iā-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	fáilteL	fáiltiL	fáilti
Vocative	fáilteL	fáiltiL	fáilti
Accusative	fáiltiN	fáiltiL	fáilti
Genitive	fáilte	fáilteL	fáilteN
Dative	fáiltiL	fáiltib	fáiltib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Middle Irish: fáilte
  • Irish: fáilte
  • Manx: failt
  • Scottish Gaelic: fàilte

Adjective

fáilte

1. inflection of fáilid:
   1. genitive singular feminine
   2. genitive plural all genders

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
fáilte	ḟáilte	fáilte pronounced with /v(ʲ)-/
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

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