meabhair

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish mebuir (“recollection, memory”), from Latin memoria.

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /mʲauɾʲ/, [mʲɑ̃ɯ̯rʲ]
• (Connacht) IPA^(key): /mʲauɾʲ/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /mʲoːrʲ/, [mʲõːrʲ]

Noun

meabhair f (genitive singular meabhrach)

1. mind, sense
2. intellect, reason, intelligence
3. sanity

Declension

Declension of meabhair

Fifth declension

Bare forms (no plural for this noun): Case Singular Nominative meabhair Vocative a mheabhair Genitive meabhrach Dative meabhair meabhraigh (archaic, dialectal)

Forms with the definite article: Case Singular Nominative an mheabhair Genitive na meabhrach Dative leis an meabhair leis an meabhraigh (archaic, dialectal) don mheabhair don mheabhraigh (archaic, dialectal)

Derived terms

• meabhairéalangach (“mental defective”)
• meabhairghalar (“mental illness”)

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
meabhair	mheabhair	not applicable
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “meabhair”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “mebair”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Entries containing “meabhair” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
• Entries containing “meabhair” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.