slíab

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• sléb

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *sleibos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sʲl͈ʲiːa̯β]

Noun

slíab n (genitive slébe, nominative plural slébe)

1. mountain, mountain range
   • 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. 55^d11

     Amal du·berad nech hi ceist do Dauid: “Húare is móir sléb fírinne Dǽ, cid ara fodmai-siu, ⟨a⟩ Dauid, didiu a ndu imnedaib ⁊ frithoircnib fodaimi? Air it fírián-⟨s⟩u.” Ícaid-som didiu anísin, a n-as·mbeir iudicia Domini abisus multa .i. ataat mesai Dǽ nephchomtetarrachti amal abis ⁊ amal fudumain. Is ed in sin fod·era in n-erígim, cid ara fodaim int aís fírián inna fochaidi, ⁊ cid ara mbiat in pecthaig isnaib soinmechaib.

     As though someone had put as a question to David: “Because God’s righteousness is as great as a mountain, why then, David, dost thou suffer what of afflictions and injuries thou sufferest? For thou art righteous.” He solves that then when he says “iudicia Domini abyssus multa”, i.e. there are judgments of God incomprehensible like an abyss and like a depth. That is what causes the complaint why the righteous folk endure tribulations, and why sinners are in prosperity.

   • 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. 67^d14

     Amal rund·gab slíab Sión andes ⁊ antúaid du⟨n⟩ chath⟨raig⟩ dïa dítin, sic rund·gabsat ar ṅdá thoíb du dítin ar n-inmedónach-ni.

     As Mount Sion is located on the south and the north of the city to protect it, so are our two sides there to protect our insides.

2. moor

Declension

Neuter s-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	slíabN	slíabN	sléibeL
Vocative	slíabN	slíabN	sléibeL
Accusative	slíabN	slíabN	sléibeL
Genitive	sléibeL	sléibe	sléibeN
Dative	sléibL	sléibib	sléibib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

• slíabdae

Descendants

• Irish: sliabh
• Manx: slieau
• Scottish Gaelic: sliabh

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
slíab	ṡlíab	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

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