amháin

See also: a-mhàin

Irish

Irish numbers ^(edit)

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Cardinal: aon     Ordinal: céad, aonú     Ordinal abbreviation: 1ú     Personal: aonar     Attributive: amháin

Etymology

From Middle Irish amáin, from Old Irish nammá (“only, merely”), a petrified phrase derived from a negated form of má (“more”) (a comparative form of mór, már (“great”)), thus “not more”.

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /əˈvˠɑːnʲ/, [əˈvɑ̃ːi̯nʲ]^[1]
• (Connacht) IPA^(key): /əˈwɑːnʲ/^[2]
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /əˈwãːnʲ/^[3]

Adverb

amháin

1. one

   Synonym: aon

   capall amháin ― one horse

2. only

   mise amháin ― only me

3. the same (after aon + noun)

   Tá siad ina gcónaí san aon teach amháin.

   They live in the same house

Derived terms

• ach amháin
• (é) amháin go
• fiú amháin
• uair amháin

 

Mutation

Mutated forms of amháin

radical	eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
amháin	n-amháin	hamháin	not applicable

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

1. Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, page 29
2. Finck, F. N. (1899) Die araner mundart (in German), volume II, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 100
3. Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 93

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “amháin”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN