gaoth

Irish

Gaoth

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /ɡeːh/
• (Connacht, Ulster) IPA^(key): /ɡiː/, (older) /ɡɯː/

Etymology 1

From Old Irish gáeth.

Noun

gaoth f (genitive singular gaoithe, nominative plural gaotha)

1. wind, a breeze
   • "Sigma", by Secret Garden

     ’S í an ghaoth do ghuth,
     ’s í an bháisteach do dheora...

     The wind is thy voice,
     the rain is thy tears...

2. empty talk, bombast
3. flatulence
4. hint, suggestion

   Synonym: gaothach

5. air
6. (literary) breath

Declension

Declension of gaoth (second declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative gaoth gaotha vocative a ghaoth a ghaotha genitive gaoithe gaoth dative gaoth gaoith (archaic, dialectal) gaotha forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an ghaoth na gaotha genitive na gaoithe na ngaoth dative leis an ngaoth leis an ngaoith (archaic, dialectal) don ghaoth don ghaoith (archaic, dialectal) leis na gaotha

• Alternative plural: gaothanna (Cois Fharraige)

Derived terms

• coileach gaoithe
• feirm ghaoithe
• gabhlán gaoithe
• gaofar
• gaothach
• gaothaire
• iomghaoth
• pocaire gaoithe
• tuirbín gaoithe

Etymology 2

From Old Irish gáeth (“estuary”).

Noun

gaoth m (genitive singular gaoith, nominative plural gaotha)

1. inlet of sea, estuary

Declension

Declension of gaoth (first declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative gaoth gaotha vocative a ghaoith a ghaotha genitive gaoith gaoth dative gaoth gaotha forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an gaoth na gaotha genitive an ghaoith na ngaoth dative leis an ngaoth don ghaoth leis na gaotha

• Alternative genitive singular: gaotha

Derived terms

• Gaoth Dobhair

Etymology 3

From Old Irish gáeth (“wise, skilful”).

Adjective

gaoth (genitive singular masculine gaoith, genitive singular feminine gaoithe, plural gaotha, comparative gaoithe)

1. (literary) wise, sagacious, shrewd, intelligent

Declension

Declension of gaoth

Positive	singular		plural
	masculine	feminine	strong noun	weak noun
nominative	gaoth	ghaoth	gaotha; ghaotha2
vocative	ghaoith		gaotha
genitive		gaoithe	gaotha	gaoth
dative	gaoth; ghaoth1	ghaoth; ghaoith (archaic)	gaotha; ghaotha2
Comparative	níos gaoithe
Superlative	is gaoithe

¹ When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article.
² When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.

Mutation

Mutated forms of gaoth

radical	lenition	eclipsis
gaoth	ghaoth	ngaoth

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), “gaoth”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla [Irish–English Dictionary], Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish gáeth.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡ̊ɯː/

Noun

gaoth f (genitive singular gaoithe, plural gaothan)

1. wind

   Tha a' ghaoth ag èiridh. ― The wind is rising.

2. (vulgar) flatulence

Declension

Declension of gaoth (class IIa feminine noun)

indefinite
	singular	plural
nominative	gaoth	gaothan
genitive	gaoithe	ghaoth
dative	gaoith	gaothan; gaothaibh1
definite
	singular	plural
nominative	(a') ghaoth	(na) gaothan
genitive	(na) gaoithe	(nan) gaoth
dative	(a') ghaoith	(na) gaothan; gaothaibh1
vocative	ghaoth	ghaotha

¹ archaic or poetic form

• Alternative genitive singular: gaoitheadh (Southern Hebridean, Skye)

Derived terms

• crann-gaoithe (“wind turbine”)
• gaoth tro tholl (“draught”)
• gaoth-ghrèine (“solar wind”)
• gaothach (“windy; flatulent”)
• gobhlan-gaoithe (“swallow”)
• muileann-gaoithe (“windmill”)
• sgèile gaoithe (“wind scale”)
• sruth-gaoith (“draught”)
• tuathanas-gaoithe (“wind farm”)

References

• Edward Dwelly (1911), “gaoth”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “2 gáeth”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language