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dative of teg house, must have had a termination after the stem-form teges-.

PROSTHESIS.

107. h is often placed as in mediæval Latin before an initial vowel. This is without fixed rule in Old Irish, but gradually becomes invariable in particular cases:

(1) after the forms inna and na of the article (gen. sg. fem., nom. pl.), e.g. na hingine of the girl; na heich the steeds; (2) after the possessive a fem. gen., e. g. a ech his steed, a hech her steed;

(3) after the prepositions co, fri, la, a (ass), e. g. co hEmain, fri hór, la háes, a hEmain;

(4) after ba fuit, e.g. bá halaind, ba hé, but also in any other situation often hé, he;

(5) in general before certain words without regard to the preceding word, e. g. before the preposition in- when its nasal has disappeared: hí Temraig in Tara; hitá ubi est; very often hEriu, hErend.

108. In Middle and Later Irish an ƒ is placed before certain words: focus, comfocus near, Old Irish ocus; fúacht cold, Old Irish úacht; for inquit, Old Irish or, ol; fur-áil enjoin, Old Irish ur-, er-áil; ros-fuc tulit eos, Old Irish ro uc, ruc; dos fanic came to them, Old Irish do anic, tánic; con facca vidit, Old Irish con acca; dona fib eis qui, Old Irish donaib hí.

APHÆRESIS.

108b. Sometimes, especially in Later Irish, the initial vowel in small proclitic words is suppressed: con tein for ocon tein by the fire; má tudchatar for imma tudchatar wherefore they are come; sin maig for isin maig on the plain; na

lámaib for inna lámaib in their hands. Thus also in the article na has arisen from inna.

108. Thus also the s of the initial sound of the proclitic article and relative pronoun has disappeared and has only survived in union with prepositions which had a consonantal terminal sound (cf. § 169 and § 207). Thus also the conjunction and preposition amal, amail may be put with samail likeness, Latin simile.

II.

DECLENSION.

109. Declension varies according to the original terminal sound of the stem. The following may be distinguished:

I. Stems in a, with the subdivision of stems in ia, Mascu line, Feminine and Neuter;

II. Stems in i, Masculine, Feminine and Neuter;

III. Stems in u, Masculine and Neuter;

IV. Stems with consonantal terminal sound, namely (a) stems in d, th (originally t) and t (originally nt), (b) stems in a guttural, (c) stems in r (the terms of kinship), (d) stems in n, Masculine and Feminine, (e) Neuters in man, (ƒ) Neuters in as and other stems in s.

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110. Paradigms: fer Masc. man, túath Fem. people,

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1 111. In the same way are declined the Masculine nouns : ball limb, bél lip, cenn head, fiach debt, iasc fish, folt hair, macc son, láech hero, día God; and the Feminine nouns : áram number, rann part, cland progenies, lám hand, breth judgment, serc love, ferc wrath, delb form, ingen girl, bairgen bread, tol will, coss foot, crích end, grían sun, cíall sense, úall superbia, bríathar word; and the Neuter nouns: bás death, grád gradus, rath grace, scél story, accobor will, sáithar trouble, galar sickness, cenél kind, foraithmet memoria, etach dress, bigd food, bunad origo, torad fruit, úathad singularitas; the adjectives mall slow, marb dead, slán whole, mór great, bec little, trén brave, olc evil, lond bold, cóem soft, nóeb holy, sóer free, lúath swift, fercach wrathful, iressach faithful, buidech thankful, toirsech mournful, beo alive.

111. The u peculiar to the Dat. Sg. M. and N. (or o, e. g. eoch Dat. of ech) is gradually given up again (fir, cinn for the more ancient fiur, ciunn); in syllables with á, í, ía, ó, úa, ói, óe, as in some other words such as mac, rath and in adjectives in -ach it has never been observed at all. (Cf. § 22.)

112. The following are noteworthy: fiach, Gen. feich, but biad, Gen. biid, bid, Dat. biud (§ 11); grían, Dat. gréin; briathar, Dat. bréthir; N. día, G. dée, dé, D. día, A. día n-, V. a dé, Pl. N. dée, dé, G. día n, D. déib, A. déo.

113. Ben woman is irregular and is declined thus ! N. ben, G. mná, D. mnái, A. mnái n-, V. a ben, Pl. N. mná, G. ban n-, D. mnáïb, A. mná, Dual N. A. di mnái, G. dá mná, D. díb mnáib.

114. In Middle Irish the feminine form in -a of the Nominative Plural is introduced also into the masculine of adjectives: marba besides mairb. Cf. § 180.

(b) Stems in ia.

115. Paradigms: céle M. fellow, aidche F. night, cride

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116. In the same way are declined the Masculine nouns : dalte pupil, rectire præpositus, tigerne lord, uisce water; and whiskey the Feminine nouns córe peace, gorte hunger, insce speech, sétche wife, sochude crowd, cense mildness, fáilte joy, soillse sol light; and the Neuter nouns bélre speech, comarde sign,

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