áel

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ael"

Middle Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish áel, perhaps from the same source as Proto-Germanic *ēlō (“awl”).^[1] See also Sanskrit आरा (ārā, “shoemaker's knife”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (earlier) /ɤːl/, (later) /ɯːl/

Noun

áel m

1. trident
2. meatfork, flesh-fork
   • c. 1000, anonymous author, edited by Rudolf Thurneysen, Scéla Mucca Meic Dathó, Dublin: Stationery Office, published 1935, § 1, page 2, line 13:

     In fer no·t⟨h⟩ēged iarsint ṡligi do·bered in n-aēl isin coiri, ocus a·taibred din chētgabāil, iss ed no·ithed.

     Each man who came along the passage would put the flesh-fork into the cauldron, and whatever he got at the first taking, it was that which he ate. (literally, “The man who…”)

Descendants

• Irish: adhal
• Manx: aall
• Scottish Gaelic: adhal

Mutation

Middle Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
áel	unchanged	n-áel
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

1. MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “áel”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎, Stirling, →ISBN

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “2 áel”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Old Irish

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈaːi̯l]

Noun

áel m

1. (geology, chemistry) lime, chalk

Inflection

Masculine o-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	áel	áelL	aílL
Vocative	aíl	áelL	áeluH
Accusative	áelN	áelL	áeluH
Genitive	aílL	áel	áelN
Dative	áelL	áelaib	áelaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Middle Irish: áel
  • Irish: aol
  • Manx: eayl
  • Scottish Gaelic: aol

Etymology 2

Matasović reconstructs a Proto-Celtic *ausetlom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- (“to scoop”),^[1] but he does not explain how this word fails to leave any trace of au- or ó, the normal reflexes of Proto-Celtic *au- in Old Irish.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaː.əl/, [ˈaː.el]

Noun

áel n

1. meat fork

Inflection

Neuter o-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	áelN	áelN	áelL, áela
Vocative	áelN	áelN	áelL, áela
Accusative	áelN	áelN	áelL, áela
Genitive	aïlL	áel	áelN
Dative	aíulL	áelaib	áelaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Middle Irish: áel
  • Irish: adhal
  • Manx: aall
  • Scottish Gaelic: adhal

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
áel (pronounced with /h/ in h-prothesis environments)	unchanged	n-áel
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

1. Matasović, Ranko (2009) “*awsetlo-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 48

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “2 áel”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language