léann

See also: leann

Irish

Alternative forms

• léigheann (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l̠ʲeːn̪ˠ/
• Homophone: léan (all Munster and many Connacht and Ulster varieties)

Etymology 1

From Old Irish légend n (“act of studying”) (verbal noun of légaid, from Latin legendum.

Noun

léann m (genitive singular léinn)

1. Alternative form of léigheann (“(act of) reading, studying”)
2. learning; education, study

   Ní hualach do dhuine an léann. (proverb)

   Learning is no encumbrance.

   Tuigeann fear léinn leathfhocal. (proverb)

   A word to the wise is sufficient.

   (literally, “A man of education understands a hint.”)

3. form of learning

Derived terms

• aos léinn (“scholars”)
• léann cogaidh (“training in the art of warfare”)
• léann farraige (“training in the art of seamanship”)
• léann liteartha (“belles-lettres”)
• léannta (“learned, erudite, scholarly”, adj)
• lucht léinn (“scholars”)
• mac léinn m (“student”, literally “son of learning”)

 

Related terms

• léanntacht f (“learnedness, erudition”)

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “léann”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 60
• Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, page 65

Etymology 2

Verb

léann

1. analytic present of léigh