cumachte power, esseirge resurrection, tairngire promise; and the adjectives asse easy, anse difficult, doe slow, núe new, uile all, colnide carnal, nemde heavenly, cétne same.

117. In many of these words already in the older language e has been expanded to a, especially after a broad vowel: dalta (Gen. daltai), córa, gorta, comarda, cumachta, assa, ansa, nemda, cétna, tigerna, bélra. The writing cumachtæ, censæ indicates an intermediate stage.

118. In the Dative Sg. Masc. and Neuter the i is suppressed after a broad vowel: daltu, gortu, and later a appears in place of u: dalta. In words with a slender vowel after the disappearance of the u an i remains: céli.

119. In later manuscripts terminal i and e are not sharply distinguished.

120. Duine M. man, Gen. duini has in the Plural dóini, Gen. doine, and so on. lathe N. day, is also contracted to laa, lá, Gen. lái (besides lathi), Dat. lau, lá, lá, Ace. lá n, and so on.

II.
Stems in i.

121. Paradigms: fáith M. poet, súil F. eye, muir N. sea.

vates

mane

mon-gan

122. In the same way are declined the Masculine nouns : cnáim bone, cimbid prisoner, tuistid parens, dorsid and dorsióir door-keeper; and the Feminine nouns: biáil (Gen. béla) hatchet, colinn flesh (Gen. colno), cruim worm, dúil element, faith lordship, fuil blood, fochith, fochaid suffering, iarfaigid (Gen. iarfaigtho) asking; and the Neuter nouns: búaid victory, guin wound, mind crown, rind star, tír land; and the adjectives: terra cóir uniform, just, léir industrious, erdirc famous, maith good, sain different, cosmil like, mithig fitting, álind lovely (Nom. &ling Pl. áildi, ailli), allaid wild.

123. Neuter nouns with a slender vowel have e in place of a tír country (Gen. tíre); rind has in the Nom. Pl. rind and renna, the latter (also mora?) perhaps in transition to Declension Ia.

124.

Some Feminine nouns fluctuate between this and the first declension, especially the infinitive gabál and gabáil take, tabairt and tabart give, tomailt and tomalt consume.

125. In the same way adjectives in many instances fluctuate between the - and the a- declension; the genitive singular masculine and neuter is formed always according to the first declension: maith good, Gen. maith.

III.

Stems in u.

126. Paradigms: gním M. deed, doing, recht N. right.

127. In the same way are declined the Masculine nouns : bith world, bráth judgment, cruth figure, guth voice, fid tree, mug slave, áis, óis aetas, senchas antiquity, fiuss, fiss knowledge, cotlud sleep, and all other infinitives in -ud and -ad.

128. The Neuter nouns are not sharply distinguished from the Masculine. The following may, with more or less certainty, be classed as neuter: ith corn (Gen. etho), lín number, lind drink, loch lake, med mead, sruth stream, suth fetus, tes heat, dorus door.

129. The infinitives in -ud of verbs of the III. Conjugation show especially the after effect of the original u in the Nom. Sg. loscud to burn, foillsigud to show. In the later language this -ud is changed in many verbs to ad: loscadh. More frequently Old Irish had a u in the Dative Sg. isin biuth in the world, dind riuth de cursu (Nom. bith, rith), but it was gradually given up even here.

130. After a slender vowel -e shows itself for -o, -a in the Gen. Sg. suidigud positio, Gen. suidigthe.

131. A great variation of the ending is observed in the Nom. Pl. besides gnímai and gníma there are found gními, gnimæ and gníme.

132. Adjectives in the plural pass into the i declension : follus clear, Nom. Pl. foilsi; il much, Acc. Pl. ili.

133. Many words follow later the a-declension: dorus, later doras door, Gen. dorais.

IV.

(a) Dental stems.

134. Paradigms: fili M. poet, ara M. charioteer, cara M. friend, beothu M. life.

135. Like fili are declined: oigi guest, slige way, tene fire, léine shirt, cóimdiu, coimdi (Gen. cóimded) Lord, eirr curruum princeps, traig foot, mil miles, drui Druid (but Gen. Sg. and Pl. and Du. druad).

136. Like ara are declined: nia hero, nia nic nepos, asca rival, enemy, tenge, tenga tongue, Ulaid Ultonii, sab princeps, fortis, cin guilt.

feudal

137. Like care, cara, are declined: náma, náma enemy, tipra spring, tricha thirty, dínu lamb, fiadu, fiada, Lord, God, Núadu Nom. pr., bráge neck, loche (Gen. lóchet) lightning, fiche (Gen. fichet) twenty, tee, té, hot.

138. Like beothu are declined numerous abstract nouns in -tu and -datu, the latter being derived from adjectives in -de: óentu, unitas, aurlatu obedience, cródatu hardness, esbatu inutilitas, óendatu unity, mórdatu greatness.

139. The stem of the paradigms fili, ara, beothu had an original terminal sound in t; hence th is still found instead of d, and unaspirated t in the immediate contact of the dental with 7 or n: niath nepotis, bethath vitae, tengthaib linguis, sligthi viae, tenti ignes, Ultaib.

140. The stem of the example cara had an original terminal sound in -nt. The t of cara becomes d in Middle Irish by direct contact with r: cairdib.

141. For -id, -it in the Dative and Acc. of all numbers of the paradigms ara, cara, beothu -aid, -ait came to be written in Middle Irish. Simple i remains after a slender vowel: fiche twenty, Acc. fichit.

142. Even in Old Irish in the Dat. Sg. of the paradigm beothu, a form resembling the Nominative is found: i m-bethu in life; so also it chin besides it chinaid through thy guilt. Also instead of the Nom. Dual the form of the Nominative Singular is used.

143. In Middle Irish such forms occur in the Nom. Pl. as tenti, sligthi, traigthi; in the Accusative Plural forms in -u, -o, replace the older forms in -a: Ulto, Ultu, filedu.